Adherence issues related to sublingual immunotherapy as perceived by allergists

Figures & data

Table 1 Percentage of allergists who ranked questionnaire issues influencing adherence to SLIT at 1–3

	n	%
Perceived efficacy of treatment by patients	231	78.1
Tolerability	196	66.2
Cost reimbursement	171	57.8
Patient education	117	39.4
Ease of use	106	35.7
Regular physician-patient contact	95	32.1
Regular follow-up visits	90	30.4
Administration regimen (pre-co seasonal)	72	24.3
Administration regimen (continuous)	65	21.9
Approval from general practitioner	49	16.6

Abbreviation: SLIT, sublingual immunotherapy.

Table 2 Allergists’ ranking of perception of efficacy as the most important factor in adherence to SLIT

Ranking	n	%	CI 95%
			Lower	Upper
1	161	54.4	48.7	60.1
2	49	16.6	12.3	20.8
3	21	7.1	4.2	10.0
4	7	2.4	0.6	4.1
5	15	5.1	2.6	7.6
6	5	1.7	0.2	3.2
7	7	2.4	0.6	4.1
8	13	4.4	2.1	6.7
9	6	2.0	0.4	3.6
10	8	2.7	0.9	4.6
ND	4	1.4	0.0	2.7
Total	296

Abbreviations: SLIT, sublingual immunotherapy; CI, confidence interval; ND, not defined.

Table 3 Ranking of cost reimbursement in adherence to SLIT

Ranking	n	%	CI 95%
			Lower	Upper
1	102	34.5	29.0	39.9
2	32	10.8	7.3	14.3
3	37	12.5	8.7	16.3
4	26	8.8	5.6	12.0
5	19	6.4	3.6	9.2
6	12	4.1	1.8	6.3
7	16	5.4	2.8	8.0
8	20	6.8	3.9	9.6
9	11	3.7	1.6	5.9
10	16	5.4	2.8	8.0
ND	5	1.7	0.2	3.2
Total	296

Abbreviations: SLIT, sublingual immunotherapy; CI, confidence interval; ND, not defined.

Table 4 Ranking of treatment tolerability in adherence to SLIT

Ranking	n	%	95% CI
			Lower	Upper
1	63	21.3	16.6	25.9
2	82	27.7	22.6	32.8
3	51	17.2	12.9	21.5
4	19	6.4	3.6	9.2
5	19	6.4	3.6	9.2
6	15	5.1	2.6	7.6
7	11	3.7	1.6	5.9
8	15	5.1	2.6	7.6
9	12	4.1	1.8	6.3
10	6	2.0	0.4	3.6
ND	3	1.0	−0.1	2.2
Total	296

Abbreviations: SLIT, sublingual immunotherapy; CI, confidence interval; ND, not defined.

Table 5 Three-year SLIT adherence as perceived by allergists

Adherence	N	%	95% CI
			Lower	Upper
>80%	87	29.4	24.2	34.6
80%–50%	171	57.8	49.3	66.3
<50%	21	7.1	1.2	13.0
NA	17	5.7	0.0	12.5
Total	296

Abbreviations: SLIT, sublingual immunotherapy; CI, confidence interval; NA, not available.