How to Perform Dilutions
Once you have prepared the patient’s treatment vial (e.g., Red Vial), you will need to perform a series of dilutions before you begin treatment. Subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy begins with a small dose of a highly dilute allergen solution and, over time, increases in volume and concentration until the maintenance dose has been achieved.
For many practices, this involves a series of simple 10-fold dilutions. This typically involves four or five vials depending on the tolerance of the patient and the expected therapeutic starting point. Below is a table showing how to perform 10-fold dilutions that includes recommendations for labelling:
If you are using 5 mL vials instead of 10 mL vials, you can perform the same series of dilutions using the following strategy:
10-Fold Dilution - 5 mL Vials - 1:10 w/v Extact:
For more information on how to target an effective dose in your treatment vial, please see the section Dose Calculations for the Maintenance Vial.
For further examples of common dilution strategies, please see the Dilution Tables section.
For more information see the following sections: