Supplementary Material for: Effects of Artemisia annua sublingual immunotherapy on asthma control and pulmonary function in patients with mild-moderate allergic asthma

Objective: To observe and assess the efficacy and safety of Artemisia annua (A. annua)-sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) in patients with mild-moderate allergic asthma (AS).
Methods: In this retrospective study, the complete data of 60 patients with mild-moderate AS from October 2022 to October 2023 was included. Patients were stratified into two different groups based on treatment regimens: the SLIT group, 30 individuals who underwent standardized A. annua-SLIT for at least 6 months before pollen season, and the control group, the other 30 patients only received the symptomatic drug. During the 2022 and 2023 pollen season, asthma daytime symptom score (ADSS), asthma nighttime symptom score (ANSS), total medicine score (TMS), asthma control test score (ACT), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), and FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC) were measured to evaluate the efficacy, and adverse events (AEs) were used to assess its safety.
Results: There were no significant differences in all clinical outcomes between the two groups during the 2022 pollen season (all P > 0.05). However, after SLIT treatment, the level of ADSS, ANSS, TMS, ACT, FEV1, and patients’ number of well controlled AS significantly improved compared with the control group (all P < 0.01). Notably, all the clinical outcomes significantly improved compared with the baseline only in the SLIT group (all P < 0.001). No severe AEs were reported, and all AEs were mild.
Conclusion: Pre-seasonal treatment of A. annua-SLIT for at least 6 months could relieve daytime and nighttime symptoms, reduce medication use, and improve asthma control and lung function in mono- and poly-sensitized patients with mild-moderate AS.

研究目的：观察并评估青蒿（Artemisia annua, A. annua）舌下免疫治疗（sublingual immunotherapy, SLIT）用于轻中度过敏性哮喘（allergic asthma, AS）患者的疗效与安全性。
方法：本项回顾性研究纳入2022年10月至2023年10月期间的60例轻中度AS患者的完整临床资料。根据治疗方案将患者分为两组：SLIT组，共30例，于花粉季前接受标准化A. annua-SLIT治疗至少6个月；对照组，共30例，仅接受对症药物治疗。在2022年及2023年花粉季期间，通过日间哮喘症状评分（asthma daytime symptom score, ADSS）、夜间哮喘症状评分（asthma nighttime symptom score, ANSS）、总用药评分（total medicine score, TMS）、哮喘控制测试评分（asthma control test score, ACT）、一秒用力呼气容积（forced expiratory volume in one second, FEV1）以及FEV1/用力肺活量（forced vital capacity, FVC）评估治疗疗效，并以不良事件（adverse events, AEs）评估其安全性。
结果：2022年花粉季期间，两组患者的各项临床结局指标均无显著差异（所有P>0.05）。但经SLIT治疗后，与对照组相比，SLIT组的ADSS、ANSS、TMS、ACT、FEV1水平以及哮喘良好控制患者数量均显著改善（所有P<0.01）。值得注意的是，仅SLIT组的各项临床结局指标较基线水平均有显著提升（所有P<0.001）。本研究未报告严重不良事件，所有不良事件均为轻度。
结论：对于轻中度AS单致敏与多致敏患者，在花粉季前接受至少6个月的A. annua-SLIT治疗，可缓解日间与夜间哮喘症状、减少用药量，并改善哮喘控制情况与肺功能。