Patients
From August 2014 until January 2018, a total of 1,425 patients were included in the study. The demographic data of the patients are shown in Table 1. Seventy-five patients refused VIT, eight patients were lost to follow-up, and therefore Visit 2 was performed with 1,342 patients. The majority of patients returned to the clinics for the first annual check-up; Visit 3 was performed with 1,186 patients.
Of all patients included, 388 (27.2%) took antihypertensive drugs: 10.4% took β-blockers, 11.9% ACEI, and 5.0% β-blockers and ACEI, respectively. Ninety-three (7.0%) patients who underwent VIT had a systemic adverse event, and these reactions were predominantly mild (Table 2). Only one patient suffered from a Grade III reaction with flush and bronchospasm. Large local reactions (LLR) were observed in 348 (26.3%) patients undergoing VIT.