Allergen immunotherapy for IgE-mediated food allergy: protocol for a systematic review.
Dhami S., Nurmatov U., Pajno GB., Fernandez-Rivas M., Muraro A., Roberts G., Akdis C., Alvaro-Lozano M., Beyer K., Bindslev-Jensen C., Burks W., du Toit G., Ebisawa M., Eigenmann P., Knol E., Makela M., Nadeau KC., O'Mahony L., Papadopoulos N., Poulsen L., Sackesen C., Sampson H., Santos A., van Ree R., Timmermans F., Sheikh A.
BackgroundThe European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is in the process of developing the EAACI Guidelines for Allergen Immunotherapy (AIT) for IgE-mediated food allergy. We seek to critically assess the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety of AIT in IgE-mediated food allergy.MethodsWe will undertake a systematic review, which will involve searching international biomedical databases for published, in progress and unpublished evidence. Studies will be independently screened against pre-defined eligibility criteria and critically appraised using established instruments. Data will be descriptively and, if possible and appropriate, quantitatively synthesised.DiscussionThe findings from this review will be used to inform the development of recommendations for EAACI's Guidelines on AIT.