EAP 2017 Congress and MasterCourse, October 12-15, 2017, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Subcutaneous Immunotherapy: The Patients’ Point of View

Maria Loureiro 1 Sandra Pereira 2 Ana Azevedo 2 Arménia Oliveira 2 Paulo Guimarães 2
1Pediatrics, Centro Hospitalar Entre Douro e Vouga

Introduction: Asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) interfere in the quality of life of patients. Specific subcutaneous immunotherapy (SSCIT) is a powerful therapeutic weapon which can prevent sensitization to new antigens and induce sustained clinical improvement.

Objective: to evaluate patients’ satisfaction with SSCIT and its perceived efficacy.

Methods: We evaluated the degree of patient satisfaction through a questionnaire administered to outpatients undergoing SSCIT at our department.

Results: We had 94 answered questionnaires. 62.8% of respondents were male; median age:14 years-old; 62.8% had undergone SSCIT for 2 years or more at the time of answering; polysensitization was present in 55.3% of patients; most frequent diagnoses: allergic rhinitis (AR) – 39.3%; asthma – 21.3%; AR and asthma – 39.4%. Preventing disease progression was mentioned as the main reason for seeking therapy (47.9%) while the second most common was to lessen the number of flares (33%), followed by wanting to be less reliant on medication (19.2%). 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). 97.9% of respondents would recommend the treatment to other patients. As the main positive aspect of this line of therapy respondents reported an overall better quality of life (57.5%). The main downside reported was the price of treatment (68.1%). Only 7.4% reported pain at the time of SSCIT administration.

Conclusion: Our results are similar to what has already been described in the literature regarding SSCIT, symptomatic improvement and better quality of life. Immunotherapy should always be considered in the appropriate context, as it is the only treatment capable of stopping disease progression

Maria Loureiro
Maria Loureiro
MD
CENTRO HOSPITALAR ENTRE DOURO E VOUGA








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