Venom Immunotherapy: Risk Factors, Predictors, Duration, and Other Unmet Needs

Venom immunotherapy is the only preventative treatment modality for venom allergic individuals at this time. Given this, decreasing associated risks by improvement of its safety profile is paramount. This article will review new and recent advances in venom immunotherapy for the treatment of hymenoptera venom allergy. Advances include the identification of new risk factors for adverse reactions with immunotherapy, the expanded use of laboratory tests to identify those at highest risk of adverse reactions, the use of novel recombinant allergens for the diagnosis and treatment of venom allergic patients, and an update on known risk factors and predictors of immunotherapy failure. We also review the latest advances on emerging delivery mechanisms and alternate dosing schedules that aim to improve safety, tolerability, and cost of venom immunotherapy.