Data Presented at World Allergy Organization Annual Symposium Demonstrates Safety of Self-Administered Allergy Shots

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- United Allergy Services (UAS)®, a leading healthcare services company assisting family physicians and health systems to deliver safe and effective allergy testing and customized immunotherapy services, today announced that data from a recent retrospective study citing the safety of UAS' protocols for seasonal and perennial allergy treatment in the primary care setting will be presented at the World Allergy Organization's (WAO) Annual Symposium on Immunotherapy and Biologics in Chicago. The abstract was also recognized with a Top Abstract Award by the WAO.

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The study, "The Safety of the United Allergy Services Immunotherapy Protocol," concludes that the risk of systemic, or adverse, reaction is less with United Allergy Services treatment protocol than traditional dosage and fast-build up RUSH methods that involve immunotherapy shots administered at a physician's office.  The UAS protocol in the study was administered by primary care physicians and utilized self (home) administration. These results are due to UAS' slower, more incremental, immunotherapy build up phase as a self-administered treatment for patients suffering from seasonal and perennial allergies. Patients that receive allergy shots according to UAS protocols are under the care of primary care physicians.

Until recently, the only real relief for allergies and allergic asthma remained primarily in the hands of allergists who administer immunotherapy shots. This already small community of approximately 5,000 U.S. specialists^[i] is expected to decline by 6.8 percent by 2020, while demand for allergy-related services is projected to increase by 35 percent by the same year.^[ii] This forecast only scratches the surface of the true demand for allergy and asthma care, as only a portion of the approximately 60 million Americans suffering from allergic rhinitis are aware of their condition and seek specialty care.

Frederick M. Schaffer, M.D., a board-certified allergist and lead investigator of the study, and the team that conducted the study, will be honored at the symposium. Details of the poster presentation are below:

"The Safety of the United Allergy Services Immunotherapy Protocol"
Michigan Ballroom, Westin Michigan Avenue, Chicago
Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. CST   

About United Allergy Services
United Allergy Services ® (UAS) brings effective and convenient allergy testing and immunotherapy to primary care physicians; pulmonologists; ENT physicians; pediatricians; internal medicine physicians; and healthcare systems that treat the vast majority of patients with seasonal and perennial allergies. UAS' complete service line features in-office UAS Certified Clinical Allergy Specialist staffing and training; quality assurance and compliance; and supply and inventory management. By collaborating with physicians to safely administer allergy testing and shots, UAS has assisted the expansion of access to effective allergy care for thousands of patients that suffer from seasonal and perennial allergies.

Contacts:

[i] "Allergist-Immunologists." US News. U.S.News & World Report, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. http://health.usnews.com/doctors/allergist-immunologists.
"Number of Board Certified Allergists in the United States." American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013. http://www.aaaai.org/ask-the-expert/number-board-certified-allergists-US.aspx.

[ii] Allergist report.(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.acaai.org/press/Documents/AllergistReport08Final.pdf

SOURCE United Allergy Services (UAS)