This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Pollen extract sublingual immunotherapy yields greater treatment continuation, adherence

Patients with allergic rhinitis who took a 5-grass pollen tablet reported an improvement in symptoms, with many patients intending to continue treatment into the following pollen season, according to results from a cross sectional study.

The researchers sought to improve patient adherence to allergen immunotherapy, and prescribed patients a 5-grass pollen tablet as sublingual immunotherapy. Due to symptom improvement, 70% of study participants opted to take the 5-grass pollen tablet after the first season and 80% were willing to continue the following season, researchers said.

“Nevertheless, improving adherence in the first period of [allergen immunotherapy (AIT)] is crucial to improve overall adherence over a longer treatment period,” Liesbeth Ras, MSc, from Stallergenes BV in Almere, The Netherlands, and colleagues wrote. “As such, patient education and communication between physician and patients, especially during the first month of treatment, and in particular as to what can be expected in terms of local transient events, remains crucial to improve patient adherence to AIT over the treatment course.”

The study comprised 196 patients (49.2% male) with a mean age of 27.5 years. Among these, 67% had polysensitivity and 32% had co-existent asthma, according to the abstract. With the help of 47 participating physicians, patients took the 5-grass pollen tablet for an average of 7 months, with treatment discontinued due to mild or moderate allergic reactions. Ras and colleagues noted that 85% of patients were still undergoing treatment at 1 month and 70% of patients at 7 months. – by Jeff Craven

Disclosure: Ras was employed by Stallergenes during the study period.