Objective To compare the clinical efficacy of sublingual dust-mite drops on allergic rhinitis patients of different ages.

Methods A total of 264 patients with allergic rhinitis who were given sublingual dust-mite drops were selected in Nanjing First Hospital from June 2017 to March 2019.The patients were divided into 5 groups according to age:group A (5 to 7 years old, 24 cases), group B (8 to 13 years old, 79 cases), group C (14 to 17 years old, 40 cases), group D (18 to 39 years old, 84 cases) and group E (≥ 40 years old, 37 cases). The symptom scores, drug scores, visual analogue scale (VAS) scores and efficacy evaluation of each group before treatment were compared with those after treatment. Simultaneously, all the patients were divided into two groups according to treatment course:less than one year group(T1) and more than one year group(T2). The symptom scores, drug scores, VAS scores and efficacy evaluation between two groups were compared.

Results The symptom scores, VAS scores and drug scores of different age groups after treatment were significantly improved compared with those before treatment (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in symptom improvement degree between the groups.Improvement degree of symptoms in T2 group (symptom scores difference:vs, P=0.002;VAS scores difference:vs, P < 0.001) and efficiency rate (66.1% vs 37.9%, P < 0.001) were higher than those in T1 group.

Conclusions Sublingual dust-mite drops therapy shows a similar curative effect on allergic rhinitis patients of all ages. Patients with a course of treatment longer than 1 year have better curative effect than those with less than 1 year.