Radiofrequency Ablation of Bilateral Inferior Turbinate Followed by Subcutaneous Immunotherapy Trial

Allergic Rhinitis Due to House Dust Mite Clinical Trial

— RABIT  

Official title:

Radiofrequency Ablation of Bilateral Inferior Turbinate Followed by Subcutaneous Immunotherapy Trial for Severe House Dust Mite-sensitized Allergic Rhinitis

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Not yet recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05510024
• Other study ID #: RABIT-2022
• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: October 1, 2022
• Est. completion date: December 31, 2026

Study information

• Verified date: August 2022
• Source: Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University
• Contact: Huabin Li
• Phone: 18816993402
• Email: noseli[@]163.com
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a global health issue adversely impacting the quality of life (QoL) of affected individuals and exerting a huge public health burden. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) has been shown to be effective in the treatment of not only the symptoms, but also the underlying causes of the disease. Moreover, AIT has a preventative role against new sensitizations and development of asthma in AR patients. Hence AIT is recommended as an integrated part of an allergy management strategy in the treatment of AR. Over the development of one century, AIT has been delivered by various routes. Among them, subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) has been currently widely used in clinical practice.

House dust mite (HDM) has been reported to be the most common sensitizing allergen in China. Nasal obstruction is the common complaint in HDM-sensitized AR and prompts patients to seek medical help. It has been proved that HDM-SCIT showed favourable efficacy in treating persistent AR. However, HDM-SCIT recommends 3 years of subcutaneous injection and requires good adherence to guarantee the efficacy. Later onset of nasal obstruction alleviation might reduce the adherence of HDM-SCIT.

Radiofrequency ablation of bilateral inferior turbinate can relieve nasal obstruction within a short time after operation. It is hypothesized that, in HDM-AR patients with severe nasal obstruction, bilateral inferior turbinate surgery followed by HDM-SCIT will obtain quick-onset of good nasal ventilation and improve AIT adherence.

The overall objective of the proposed randomized controlled trial is to test whether radiofrequency ablation of bilateral inferior turbinate followed by subcutaneous immunotherapy will improve nasal obstruction among patients with house dust mite sensitized allergic rhinitis (HDM-AR) compared to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) only during the 4-month build-up phase as well as the 36-month full phase of SCIT.

Description:

The overall objective of the proposed randomized controlled trial is to test whether radiofrequency ablation of bilateral inferior turbinate followed by subcutaneous immunotherapy will improve nasal obstruction among patients with house dust mite sensitized allergic rhinitis (HDM-AR) compared to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) only during the 4-month build-up phase as well as the 36-month full phase of SCIT.

Specifically, the investigator propose to conduct a multicentre randomized trial to achieve the following specific aims:

1. To test whether radiofrequency ablation of bilateral inferior turbinate plus subcutaneous immunotherapy (RABIT) will improve nasal obstruction over a 4-month build-up phase of SCIT compared to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) only among patients with HDM-AR in China;

2. To test whether RABIT will improve each nasal symptom of AR, including sneezing, nasal itching, rhinorrhea and nasal congestion over the 36-month full phase of SCIT compared to SCIT only among patients with HDM-AR in China;

3. To evaluate whether RABIT will improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared to SCIT only among patients with HDM-AR in China;

4. To estimate the cost-effectiveness of RABIT compared to SCIT only in China.

5. To test whether RABIT will decrease the risk of incidence of asthma and reduce new sensitizations compared to SCIT only in China.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Enrollment: 392
• Est. completion date: December 31, 2026
• Est. primary completion date: June 30, 2026
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 60 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• aged 18 to 60 years

• at least 2-year history of physician-diagnosed HDM-AR, with positive skin prick test to house dust mite and/or positive serum antigen-specific IgE

• nasal congestion score =7, severe inferior turbinate hypertrophy (no visible of middle turbinate)

• no oral steroids for 4 weeks prior to treatment

• no intranasal steroids and/or antihistamines for 2 weeks prior to recruitment

Exclusion Criteria:

• symptomatic seasonal AR

• any respiratory infection within the previous 4 weeks prior to recruitment

• chronic rhinosinusitis with or without nasal polyps, nasal septum deviation, cleft lip and/or palate, autoimmune disorders, malignant tumor, immune deficiency disease, tuberculosis, cardiac dysfunction, uncontrolled asthma, beta blocker in taker, other severe systemic disease

• pregnancy or breastfeeding females

• those who had previously received AIT or nasal surgery within one month or those who participated other clinical trials within 3 months prior to recruitment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Allergic Rhinitis Due to House Dust Mite
• Rhinitis
• Rhinitis, Allergic

Intervention

Procedure:
• Radiofrequency ablation of bilateral inferior turbinate followed by subcutaneous immunotherapy
The regulation and monitoring of the entire soft-coagulation process are conducted via the radiofrequency generator under endoscopic guidance. Lateral out-fracture of the inferior turbinate is performed if necessary. One month after surgery, allergen immunotherapy will be conducted. Standardized Dp allergen extracts (Alutard SQ, ALK-Abell'o) were used for SCIT. According to the manufacturer's instructions, the build up phase was carried out with weekly injections of volumes of 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 mL in the first 3 vials (nos. 1 to 3) and 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.0 mL in vial no. 4, reaching the maintenance dose, 100,000 standardized quality units. The specialist adjusted the dose according to the patient's therapeutic response, and the cumulative allergen dose for each patient was the maximal tolerable injected dose. Then, the maintenance dose was given with an injection interval of 6±2 weeks according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
• SCIT
Allergen immunotherapy will be conducted. Standardized Dp allergen extracts (Alutard SQ, ALK-Abell'o) were used for SCIT. According to the manufacturer's instructions, the build up phase was carried out with weekly injections of volumes of 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8 mL in the first 3 vials (nos. 1 to 3) and 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.0 mL in vial no. 4, reaching the maintenance dose, 100,000 standardized quality units. The specialist adjusted the dose according to the patient's therapeutic response, and the cumulative allergen dose for each patient was the maximal tolerable injected dose. Then, the maintenance dose was given with an injection interval of 6±2 weeks according to the manufacturer's recommendations.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
n/a

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Eye & ENT Hospital of Fudan University

References & Publications (8)

Brozek JL, Bousquet J, Agache I, Agarwal A, Bachert C, Bosnic-Anticevich S, Brignardello-Petersen R, Canonica GW, Casale T, Chavannes NH, Correia de Sousa J, Cruz AA, Cuello-Garcia CA, Demoly P, Dykewicz M, Etxeandia-Ikobaltzeta I, Florez ID, Fokkens W, Fonseca J, Hellings PW, Klimek L, Kowalski S, Kuna P, Laisaar KT, Larenas-Linnemann DE, Lødrup Carlsen KC, Manning PJ, Meltzer E, Mullol J, Muraro A, O'Hehir R, Ohta K, Panzner P, Papadopoulos N, Park HS, Passalacqua G, Pawankar R, Price D, Riva JJ, Roldán Y, Ryan D, Sadeghirad B, Samolinski B, Schmid-Grendelmeier P, Sheikh A, Togias A, Valero A, Valiulis A, Valovirta E, Ventresca M, Wallace D, Waserman S, Wickman M, Wiercioch W, Yepes-Nuñez JJ, Zhang L, Zhang Y, Zidarn M, Zuberbier T, Schünemann HJ. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) guidelines-2016 revision. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2017 Oct;140(4):950-958. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2017.03.050. Epub 2017 Jun 8. — View Citation

Ciprandi G, Cirillo I, Vizzaccaro A, Tosca M, Passalacqua G, Pallestrini E, Canonica GW. Seasonal and perennial allergic rhinitis: is this classification adherent to real life? Allergy. 2005 Jul;60(7):882-7. — View Citation

Durham SR, Penagos M. Sublingual or subcutaneous immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis? J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016 Feb;137(2):339-349.e10. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2015.12.1298. Review. — View Citation

Karakoc-Aydiner E, Eifan AO, Baris S, Gunay E, Akturk E, Akkoc T, Bahceciler NN, Barlan IB. Long-Term Effect of Sublingual and Subcutaneous Immunotherapy in Dust Mite-Allergic Children With Asthma/Rhinitis: A 3-Year Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial. J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2015;25(5):334-42. Erratum in: J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol. 2016;26(2):144. — View Citation

Lou H, Ma S, Zhao Y, Cao F, He F, Liu Z, Bousquet J, Wang C, Zhang L, Bachert C. Sensitization patterns and minimum screening panels for aeroallergens in self-reported allergic rhinitis in China. Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 24;7(1):9286. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-10111-9. — View Citation

Sahin E, Dizdar D, Dinc ME, Cirik AA. Long-term effects of allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy for house dust mite induced allergic rhinitis. J Laryngol Otol. 2017 Nov;131(11):997-1001. doi: 10.1017/S0022215117002110. Epub 2017 Oct 17. — View Citation

Sohn MH. Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous Allergen Immunotherapy for Allergic Rhinitis. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2018 Jan;10(1):1-3. doi: 10.4168/aair.2018.10.1.1. — View Citation

Tabar AI, Arroabarren E, Echechipía S, García BE, Martin S, Alvarez-Puebla MJ. Three years of specific immunotherapy may be sufficient in house dust mite respiratory allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 Jan;127(1):57-63, 63.e1-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.10.025. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in nasal congestion score (NCS)	Nasal congestion is graded on a visual analog scale score (0, none; 10, severe). (1) Phase I: change in NCS during the 4-month build-up phase of SCIT between the intervention and control groups (2) Phase II: differences in NCS over the 36-month full phase of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) between the intervention and control groups.	baseline (Visit 0), one month after surgery (Visit 1, before first injection in SCIT), end of build up phase (Visit2, up to four months after first injection), up to 12 months (Visit 3), up to 24 months (Visit 4), up to 36 months (Visit5)
Secondary	TNSS	total nasal symptoms score including nasal congestion, rhinorrhea, itching and sneezing	baseline (Visit 0), one month after surgery (Visit 1, before first injection in SCIT), end of build up phase (Visit2, up to four months after first injection), up to 12 months (Visit 3), up to 24 months (Visit 4), up to 36 months (Visit5)
Secondary	total combined score (TCS)	Total combined score (TCS) is calculated as the combined score of average scores of six nasal/conjunctivitis symptoms (rhinorrhea, nasal congestion, nasal itching, sneezing, gritty eyes, and watery eyes) and the rescue medication score (RMS), ranging from 0 to 6 (0, none; 6, severe).	baseline (Visit 0), one month after surgery (Visit 1, before first injection in SCIT), end of build up phase (Visit2, up to four months after first injection), up to 12 months (Visit 3), up to 24 months (Visit 4), up to 36 months (Visit5)
Secondary	Rescue medication score	The need for rescue medication was assessed throughout the treatment as rescue medication score (RMS), ranging from 0 to 3 as follows: 0 = no use of rescue medication, 1 = use of oral and/or topical non-sedative H1 antihistamines, 2 = use of intranasal corticosteroids with/without H1 antihistamines, and 3 = use of oral corticosteroids with/without intranasal corticosteroids, with/without H1 antihistamines.	baseline (Visit 0), one month after surgery (Visit 1, before first injection in SCIT), end of build up phase (Visit2, up to four months after first injection), up to 12 months (Visit 3), up to 24 months (Visit 4), up to 36 months (Visit5)
Secondary	Health-related quality of life	The rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire (RQLQ) consisted of seven domains with a total of 28 questions. And the score was recorded at each visit to evaluate the quality of life.	baseline (Visit 0), one month after surgery (Visit 1, before first injection in SCIT), end of build up phase (Visit2, up to four months after first injection), up to 12 months (Visit 3), up to 24 months (Visit 4), up to 36 months (Visit5)
Secondary	Number of patients who achieve target maintenance dose	Number of patients who achieve target maintenance dose	end of build up phase (Visit2, up to four months after first injection)
Secondary	Incidence rate of asthma and new sensitizations	Incidence rate of asthma on those who did not have asthma at baseline	baseline (Visit 0), up to 12 months (Visit 3), up to 24 months (Visit 4), up to 36 months (Visit5)
Secondary	cost effectiveness ratio	Primary incremental cost effectiveness ratio (ICER) measures will be cost per % change in nasal congestion score	baseline (Visit 0), up to 36 months (Visit5)
Secondary	adverse events	Safety was evaluated by the occurrence and severity of adverse events (AEs) and the casual relationship between AEs and the experimental drug. All AEs will be categorized as mild (no impact on the activities of daily living), moderate (decreased or affected performance of the activities of daily living) or severe (an inability to perform the activities of daily living or death).	baseline (Visit 0), one month after surgery (Visit 1, before first injection in SCIT), end of build up phase (Visit2, up to four months after first injection), up to 12 months (Visit 3), up to 24 months (Visit 4), up to 36 months (Visit5)