SLIT is effective, tolerable, and convenient for many allergic patients. Still, real-world evidence is scarce and the aim of this study is to assess the patient-reported outcome of treatment with SLIT against grass pollen allergy in a consecutive patient population.
The total sample size consisted of 329 patients who were confirmed to be allergic to timothy grass and had been prescribed SLIT were consecutively enrolled in the study and completed a questionnaire online or in hard copy.
207 patients provided their responses to the administered questionnaire. 113 patients reported they had completed the full 3-year treatment period, 49 were still on treatment, and 45 had discontinued treatment prematurely. The betterment of asthma was twice as common among patients who completed compared to discontinued treatment. Younger age and a higher prevalence of reported oral and/or gastrointestinal side effects characterized the group that terminated SLIT. Forgetfulness was the most commonly reported specific reason.
The study concluded through its findings that the treatment perseverance resulted in the improved patient-reported outcome. Forgetfulness was the most frequently reported reason for discontinuing SLIT treatment against grass pollen allergy.
Reference: https://clinicalmolecularallergy.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12948-018-0093-8
