Adherence and quality of life in adults and children during 3-years of SLIT treatment with Grazax-a real life study

Respiratory allergic disease represents a global health problem, 30% of the population suffers from allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and
20% suffer from asthma. Allergy immunotherapy induce immunological tolerance and thereby modify the response to allergens
and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) offers the possibility of home administration of allergen therapy, but adherence is more
uncertain. The aim of the study was to investigate the adherence with GRAZAX in adults and children ≥ 5 years during three
consecutive years of treatment. This was a non-interventional, prospective, observational, multi-center, open-label study to
investigate adherence, quality of life, safety and tolerability of GRAZAX in adult and pediatric patients in a real-life setting. During
the 3-years study period estimation of adherence was done regularly. Quality of life as well as symptom score was also assessed. In
total, 399 patients (236 adults and 163 children) were included in the study. At baseline, 100% suffered from moderate-severe eyes
and nose symptoms, and 31% had asthma in the grass pollen season. Overall, 55% completed a 3-years treatment period, whereas
37% stopped before end of study and 8% were lost to follow up. After 3 years, the adherence rate decreased from 98.2% (first
month), 93.7% (first year), 93.2% (second year) and 88.9% (third year) and adverse events were the main reason for pre-term
termination. The study suggests a good adherence to treatment in a real life setting among the patients finalizing 3-years SLIT
therapy. The treatment was effective both on symptoms and HRQL.
npj Primary Care Respiratory Medicine (2018) 28:4 ; doi:10.1038/s41533-018-0072-z