Placebo effects in allergen immunotherapy: an experts’ opinion

Placebo effects are common in medicine. Randomised clinical trials help us to understand their magnitude in different therapies. There are particular problems with placebo effects in allergen immunotherapy (AIT) as it is difficult to blind the active treatment and the endpoints are largely subjectiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Frew, Anthony J. (Author) , Pfaar, Oliver (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 24 May 2018
In: Allergo journal international
Year: 2018, Volume: 27, Issue: 6, Pages: 162-166
ISSN:2197-0378
DOI:10.1007/s40629-018-0065-z
Online Access:Verlag, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40629-018-0065-z
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Author Notes:Anthony J. Frew, Oliver Pfaar
Description
Summary:Placebo effects are common in medicine. Randomised clinical trials help us to understand their magnitude in different therapies. There are particular problems with placebo effects in allergen immunotherapy (AIT) as it is difficult to blind the active treatment and the endpoints are largely subjective. This may explain why large placebo effects are often found in AIT trials. Patients receiving open label AIT get the benefit of the active and placebo components but it can be difficult to say how much benefit is due to the active component. The use of active placebos has been proposed but brings its own problems (ethical and scientific). An EAACI Task Force has been established to address these issues. Here we review the current literature on the placebo effect in general, with a special focus on AIT trials, and indicate what we believe to be important considerations and unmet needs in AIT trial design.
Item Description:Gesehen am 12.09.2019
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:2197-0378
DOI:10.1007/s40629-018-0065-z