Treatment Satisfaction During Sublingual Immunotherapy with a Five-Grass Pollen Tablet for Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis: A Prospective, Non-Interventional Study

Abstract

BackgroundSublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is a safe/well-tolerated alternative to allergen injection immunotherapy for allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC). Patient adherence is essential and patient-related outcome measures including treatment satisfaction are informative/indicative of adherence.ObjectiveThe aim was to assess treatment satisfaction with five-grass pollen tablet SLIT under real-life conditions.MethodsTreatment satisfaction among adults taking SLIT with a five-grass pollen tablet for grass pollen-related ARC was assessed with QUARTIS, a self-report questionnaire dedicated to the management of patients treated with SLIT for ARC. This 1-year prospective, non-interventional, post-authorization study was conducted in Germany between 2008 and 2010.ResultsOf the 327 patients treated with the five-grass pollen tablet, 253 completed the QUARTIS questionnaire before and during (at least one item) treatment and were included in this analysis. Between the baseline and the treatment season, significant improvements were documented in nasal and ocular symptoms, and in the impact of allergy on everyday life. At the end of the first treatment period, patients had an improved opinion of the ease of SLIT intake and a significantly improved perception of SLIT. Compliance, overall satisfaction and motivation to continue SLIT the following year were good. Physicians’ assessments showed reduced symptoms and a reduced need for symptomatic medication throughout the study. SLIT was also well tolerated.ConclusionUnder real-life conditions, five-grass pollen tablet treatment was associated with a good level of treatment satisfaction, good symptom control, a reduced need for symptomatic medication, and favourable tolerability. These facets impacted favourably on patient functioning, disposition towards this medication, and adherence.

5-grass-pollen SLIT effectiveness in seasonal allergic rhinitis: Impact of sensitization to subtropical grass pollen

“…[8][9][10][11] The high levels of treatment satisfaction observed during 300 IR 5-grass SLIT treatment in Australian SAR patients likewise reinforce the outcomes of large observational studies in Europe, where 300 IR 5-grass SLIT treatment was also shown to be associated with high levels of treatment satisfaction. 17 The observed seasonal patterns of grass pollen counts may assist in understanding why 300 IR 5grass SLIT treatment was similarly effective in all patient subgroups analysed, stratified by polysensitization status to subtropical grass pollen and by geographical location (Fig. 3).…”

“…The primary study objective was to investigate in a real-life setting patient satisfaction during the last 3 months of the pollen season (regarding symptom improvement, ease of use, frequency of dosage) following 300 IR 5-grass SLIT treatment using a modified QUARTIS questionnaire (a validated self-report questionnaire that is used to assess patient-reported outcomes in patients with AR who are treated with SLIT) 16 , 17 over a full treatment course of 3 pollen seasons. Patient-reported satisfaction was documented retrospectively at V2, V4, and V6 on 3 measures: (i) symptom improvement ("much more than/more/just as/less than/much less than, I hoped"); (ii) ease of use ("very satisfied/satisfied/neither satisfied or dissatisfied/dissatisfied/very dissatisfied"); and (iii) frequency of dosing ("very satisfied/satisfied/neither satisfied or dissatisfied/dissatisfied/very dissatisfied").…”

Clinical efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy tablets for allergic rhinitis is unlikely to be derived from in vitro allergen-release data

“…Economic and cost-effectiveness studies from Germany [14] and Canada [15] have shown that the pre-and coseasonal administration schedule of the 5-grass pollen SLIT tablet appears to be associated with lower annual costs versus perennial administration of the 1-grass pollen SLIT tablet, with annual relative savings estimated at €1,142 and Canadian $1,168, respectively [14,15]. Moreover, compliance with the pre-/coseasonal regimen is high [16]. This has even been demonstrated in a study that administered the 1-grass pollen SLIT tablet to allergic patients according to a pre-and coseasonal schedule instead of the recommended perennial schedule [17]; in this study, compliance ranged from 72% in the first year of treatment to 90% by the third year of treatment [17].…”

Allergic reactions after vaccination: translating guidelines into clinical practice

“…The results showed that SLIT approximately halved the symptom-medication scores compared to the score registered in drug-treated patients. Since then, several real-life studies were performed, including 11 studies on SCIT (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17), 15 on SLIT (6,(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29) and 5 on both (30-…”