Hymenoptera Venom Immunotherapy: Tolerance and Efficacy of an Ultrarush Protocol versus a Rush and a Slow Conventional Protocol

Table 2

Demographic and clinical data of the 76 patients enrolled in the study.

Group	N =	Treatment	Vespula/Apis	Sex (M/F)	Age (range)	Age (mean)	Local large reactions*	Systemic allergic reactions^§	Grade^§; (I) (II)(III)(IV)
A	27	Ultrarush	18/9	19/8	16–76	39.1	1	26	(3) (3) (12) (8)
B	25	Rush	16/9	16/9	18–68	40.3	1	24	(5) (4) (13) (2)
C	24	Slow Conventional	16/8	16/8	19–69	38.6	2	22	(2) (6) (10) (4)
Total	76	—	50/26	51/25	16–76	39.3	4	72	(10)(13)(35)(14)

*It is defined as a swelling exceeding a diameter of 10 cm which lasts longer than 24 h.
^§Classified according to Müller [9]: grade I: urticaria, pruritus, and malaise; grade II: angioedema, chest tightness, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and dizziness; grade III: dyspnoea, wheeze, stridor, dysphagia, and hoarseness; grade IV: hypotension, collapse, loss of consciousness, incontinence, and cyanosis.