Allergen immunotherapy for IgE-mediated food allergy: protocol for a systematic review

BACKGROUND: The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) is in the process of developing the EAACI Guidelines for Allergen Immunotherapy (AIT) for IgE-mediated food allergy. We seek to critically assess the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and safety of AIT in IgE-mediated food allergy. METHODS: We will undertake a systematic review, which will involve searching international biomedical databases for published, in progress and unpublished evidence. Studies will be independently screened against pre-defined eligibility criteria and critically appraised using established instruments. Data will be descriptively and, if possible and appropriate, quantitatively synthesised. DISCUSSION: The findings from this review will be used to inform the development of recommendations for EAACI’s Guidelines on AIT. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13601-016-0113-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.