House dust mite sublingual allergen immunotherapy tablet is safe and
well-tolerated in Dutch clinical practice
Abstract
Background 49% of clinically diagnosed allergic rhinitis (AR)
patients are sensitized to house dust mite (HDM). If allergen avoidance
and symptomatic medication fail, allergen immunotherapy may be
indicated. We investigated safety and tolerability of HDM-sublingual
immunotherapy HDM SLIT-tablets in adults in daily clinical practice in
the Netherlands. Methods Daily intake of 12 SQ-HDM SLIT-tablet
was investigated in the prospective, multi-center, observational study.
It comprised 4 consultations in 1 year. Data on safety, tolerability,
treatment satisfaction, symptomatic medication, compliance, and clinical
effectiveness (Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test; CARAT) were
collected. Descriptive and longitudinal regression data analysis was
performed. Results 415 adult patients, mean age 36.6 years,
61.4% female, 36% asthmatic were included. 65.3% of patients
experienced possibly-related adverse events (AEs). These mostly mild
(67%) AEs comprised: oral allergic reactions (58.6%), respiratory
(12.4%) and gastrointestinal symptoms (9.4%). 60 (14.5%) patients
stopped due to AEs and 76 (18.3%) for non-AE reasons. Mean CARAT scores
improved clinically significant by 6 points and symptomatic medication
use decreased from 96.1% to 77.4%. 74.5% of patients tolerated the
treatment well. Most patients were compliant (>86.5%) and
patients (62.4 %) and investigators (69.4%) were satisfied with
treatment. Conclusions HDM-SLIT-tablet is a safe and
well-tolerated AR treatment. AEs occur often but are mostly mild and
decreasing during the first year. CARAT scores improved and symptomatic
medication use decreased suggesting better control of AR with
HDMSLIT-tablet treatment. Compliance, tolerability, and treatment
satisfaction are good. However, patient follow-up and compliance remain
important points of attention when starting HDM SLIT-tablet.