The effects of accelerated house dust mite (HDM) extract administration (1 day, ultra-rush: UR) or conventional (6-week, cluster protocol: CP) administration was examined in 61 patients with severe atopic dermatitis (AD). There were 20 patients in the UR group and 41 in the CP group. Assessments of AD severity were via the SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index and were conducted at baseline, 3 and 6 months after treatment. In the CP group, SCORAD scores fell by 43.6 and 59.6% at 3 and 6 months, respectively. In the UR group these values were 49.6 and 69.7%, respectively. Patients achieving 50% or greater decrease in the SCORAD value from baseline were 71 ...