Sublingual Imunotherapy: How Satisfactory is it?

Introduction: Specific immunotherapy is the only treatment capable of impeding allergic disease progression and sensitization to new antigens.

Methods: We evaluated the degree of patient satisfaction with this line of therapy and its perceived efficacy through a questionnaire administered to outpatients undergoing specific sublingual immunotherapy (SSLIT) and followed in consultation at our department.

Results: Our sample consists of 119 answered questionnaires. 55% of respondents were male (n=66); median age 10 years-old; 53.8% had undergone SSLIT for two years or more at the time of answering; most frequent diagnoses: allergic rhinitis (AR) – 27.7%; asthma – 25.2%; AR and asthma – 37.8%. Preventing disease progression was mentioned as the main reason for seeking therapy (49.6%) while the second most common was to lessen the number of flares (30.3%), followed by wanting to be less reliant on medication (20.2%). An overall improvement in night-time symptoms was reported (p<0.01) as well as a lesser number of flares for both asthma and AR (p<0.01). Patients noticed a reduced use of both SOS medication (p<0.01) and basal medication. An improvement in tolerability for physical activity (p<0.01) and perceived number of ER visits were also reported (p<0.01). 97.5% of respondants refered improved overall symptoms and 92.4% would recommend the treatment to other patients. As the main positive aspects of this line of therapy respondents reported a overall better quality of life and less need of medication. The main downside reported was the price of treatment (72.3%).

Conclusions: Our results show an excellent degree of satisfaction with SSLIT and perceived symptomatic improvement, which demonstrates the value of this therapy in patients wellbeing and quality of life.