Management of Allergic Rhinitis in the United Arab Emirates: Expert Consensus Recommendations on Allergen Immunotherapy.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the upper airways caused by a type I hypersensitivity reaction triggered by environmental allergens. AR is associated with significant morbidity and affects patients' quality of life, emotional well-being, productivity, and cognitive functioning. As AR prevalence and morbidity have increased significantly worldwide, similar observations have been noted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with AR becoming a potential public health issue. Management of AR in the UAE is mainly provided by non-allergy specialists relying on first-line treatments such as intranasal steroids and antihistamines, with often suboptimal and short-term efficacy. Allergen Immunotherapy (AIT) is the only currently available disease-modifying treatment option in the form of either subcutaneous or sublingual allergen immunotherapy that has been proven to have long-term benefits. This article aims to provide recommendations regarding the use of AIT for managing AR in the UAE, considering both the current landscape in the Emirati healthcare system and local experience.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have received an honorarium from Biologix FZCO for the time invested in generating this manuscript, including making substantial contributions to data interpretation, reviewing the article critically for its scientific content, and revising and approving the final version independently. Financial relationships: Eike Wuestenberg declare(s) employment and stock/stock options from ALK. Tushar Arora declare(s) employment from Biologix FZCO. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
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