Objectives
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate whether patients under antihypertensive treatment with β-blockers or ACEI show more systemic AE during VIT compared with patients without antihypertensive therapy.
Secondary objectives included the evaluation of whether patients under antihypertensive treatment (β-blockers or ACEI) have more severe SSR and whether prevalence of cardiovascular diseases or hypertension is associated with the risk of more severe SSR and more frequent systemic AE during VIT. Furthermore, we evaluated whether bee venom, high sIgE levels, high tryptase levels, or quicker up-dosing protocols are correlated with a higher frequency of systemic AE. In addition, the effectiveness of VIT was monitored by the outcome of sting challenges or field stings, and these results were compared between patients with and without antihypertensive treatment.