Guidelines for Allergen Immunotherapy Extract Label Documentation
1
Each vial of allergen immunotherapy extract should be labeled in a way that permits easy
identification. Each label should include the following information
• Appropriate patient identifiers may include the patient’s name, patient number, patient’s
picture and birth date.
• The contents of the allergen immunotherapy extract in a general way. The detail with which this
can be identified depends on the size of the label and the number of allergens in the vial.
Ideally, allergens should be identified as trees, grasses, weeds, mold, dust mite, cockroach, cat,
and dog, etc. Due to space limitations, it may be necessary to abbreviate the antigens e.g., T, G,
W, M, DM, Cr, C, and D respectively A full and detailed description of vial contents should be
recorded on the prescription/content form
• The dilution from the maintenance concentrate in volume per volume (v/v). If colors, numbers,
or letters are used to identify the dilution, they also should be included
• The expiration date should be included
Examples of Possible Abbreviations for Allergen
Immunotherapy Extract Components:
Tree
T
Grass
G
Bermuda
B
WeedsVial Nomenclature:
W
Recommended
a consistent and redundant labeling system for
Ragweed
R
allergen extract dilutions is recommended
Mold
M
Alternaria
Alt
During theCladosporium
build-up phase a Cla
number of dilutions of the maintenance vial are delivered. A
redundantPenicillium
labeling system may
Pcn reduce administration errors. In addition to labeling
dilutions from
maintenance,
Cat
Ca color-coding, numerical or alphabetical system can be
used.
Dog
D
Cockroach
Cr
Dust Mite
DM
D. farinae
Df
D.
pteronyssinus
Dp
Updated on 4/5/2011
Mixture
Mx
2
Recommended Vial Nomenclature: A consistent and redundant labeling system for
allergen extract dilutions is recommended
During the build-up phase a number of dilutions of the maintenance vial are delivered. A
redundant labeling system may reduce administration errors. In addition to labeling
dilutions from maintenance, a color-coding, numerical or alphabetical system can be
used.
Dilution from Maintenance Concentrate
Maintenance Concentrate
10-fold
100-fold
1000-fold
10,000-fold
*V/V label
1:1
1:10
1:100
1:1000
1:10,000
Number
1
2
3
4
5
Color
Red
Yellow
Blue
Green
Silver
*Volume per volume
• If a numbering system is used, the highest concentration should be numbered 1 and
subsequent dilutions should be numbered from the maintenance concentration.
This is will allow for consistency in labeling because if a greater number of dilutions
are made for some patients, the number of the maintenance vial will remain the
same.
•
If a color-coding system is used, the highest concentration should be red, the next
highest yellow, followed by blue, green and silver in that order.
•
Specific contents each allergen immunotherapy extract vial should be listed
separately, including final concentrations of each of its constituents. Consistency is
essential as a basis for adoption of a universal standardized system.
Updated on 4/5/2011
Example of color-coded allergen immunotherapy maintenance concentrate vial
with dilutions.
3
All of the above information is derived from: Cox L, Nelson H, Lockey R, et al. Allergen
immunotherapy: a practice parameter third update. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2011;127:S155 and accommpaning on-line supplementary material
Updated on 4/5/2011