Compliance with allergen immunotherapy and factors affecting compliance among patients with respiratory allergies

Figures & data

Table 1. Patient characteristics and duration of AIT.

Characteristic	Total (n=236) (100%)	SCIT (n=150) ( 63.5%)	SLIT (n=86) (36.4%)	P-value
Age (years) Mean ± SD	35.4 ± 13.2	37.4 ± 12.9	32.0 ± 13.0	0.003*
Gender, N (%)
Male	142 (60.2)	94 (62.7)	48 (55.8)	0.301**
Female	94 (39.8)	56 (37.3)	38 (44.2)	0.301^***
Duration (months) Mean ± SD	25.4 ± 18.5	31.0 ± 18.3	15.9 ± 14.7	< 0.001****

comparison between SCIT & SLIT patients in terms of

1-* Mean age of patients on SCIT vs Mean age of patients on SLIT

2-** the total number of male patients on SCIT vs those on SLIT

*** the total number of female patients on SCIT vs those on SLIT

3-**** the total mean duration of treatment (in months) on SCIT vs SLIT

SD: standard deviation.

Table 2. Compliance according to duration of AIT treatment.

Duration (months)	SCIT n (%)	SLIT n (%)	P-value
0–12	39 (26.0)	44 (51.2)	< 0.001^*
13–24	17 (11.3)	12 (14.0)
25–35	6 (4.0)	20 (23.2)
≥36	88 (58.7)	10 (11.6)

* Comparison between the duration of treatment (in months) of SCIT vs SLIT

Table 3. Reasons for stopping SCIT (n = 62).

Variable	N (%)
Frequency of injections.	51 (82.2)
Duration of treatment	44 (70.9)
Commuting	42 (67.7)
Other commitments	32 (51.6)
Waiting time	14 (22.6)
Local side effects	13 (20.9)
Improvement	8 (12.9)
Pregnancy	4 (6.4)
Poor efficacy	4 (6.4)
Traveling	3 (4.8)
Other diagnosis	2 (3.2)
Other side effects	1 (1.6)
Misconceptions	1 (1.6)

Table 4. Reasons for stopping SLIT (n = 76).

Variable	N (%)
Inconvenience	33 (43.4)
Improvement	23 (30.2)
Poor efficacy	19 (25.0)
Local side effects	17 (22.3)
Duration of Rx	10 (13.1)
Other side effects	10 (13.1)
Traveling	9 (11.8)
Pregnancy	3 (3.9)
Misconceptions	3 (3.9)

Table 5. The questionnaire design.

Sections	Questions
Demographics	1-Age (years)
	2- Gender
Details of AIT & Causes of non compliance / poor compliance	3-When did you start receiving the allergy injections?
	4-When did you stop receiving the injections?
	5- If you stopped your injection treatment, Why?
	1. Pain or reactions at injection site
	2. Time needed to wait after injections
	3. Frequent dosing schedule
	4. Long duration of treatment
	5. Distance from area of residence
	6. Pregnancy
	7. Doctors decision
	8. Difficult to leave work
	9. Others (please specify)
	Please answer the following questions if you were started on SLIT:
	6- When did you start taking allergy treatment (SLIT)?
	7-When did you stop taking allergy treatment drops under the tongue/SLIT
	8- If you stopped your treatment what are the reasons?
	1. Local reactions/ side effects (itching, pain, swelling under the tongue )  2. Difficult dose schedule
	3. Long treatment duration
	4. No improvement with this treatment
	5. Improvement in symptoms, no need for treatment
	6. Pregnancy
	7. Doctor's decision
	8. Others (please specify)