A look at adherence with subcutaneous immunotherapy without out-of-pocket patient costs

Real-Life Adherence to Venom Immunotherapy and Adrenaline Autoinjector

“…Adherence to AIT has been reported in several studies; however, there is substantial heterogeneity in study design, geographic regions, study population, type of immunotherapy, treatment schedules, and definitions of adherence [23]. Adherence to VIT in our cohort is at the upper end of previous studies; however, heterogeneity between the studies exists [4][5][6]. A prospective study conducted in an allergy unit in Italy included 508 patients, and 3 years of adherence was 94.7% and adherence to a 5-year cycle of VIT was 84% [4].…”

“…A prospective study conducted in an allergy unit in Italy included 508 patients, and 3 years of adherence was 94.7% and adherence to a 5-year cycle of VIT was 84% [4]. Another study was a combined retrospective and prospective observational record review at a military treatment facility in Texas that included 162 patients who received hymenoptera immunotherapy and found that adherence to 3 years of therapy was 26% and to 5 years of treatment was 22% [6]. Moreover, adherence to SCIT with inhalant allergens was also high in our study compared to other studies; however, there exists heterogeneity in the studies, and the definition of adherence varies from 1 to 5 years [7][8][9]24].…”

“…The recommended duration of VIT is three to five years, except in cases of severe anaphylaxis, mastocytosis, systemic adverse reactions during VIT, or allergy in beekeepers, where lifelong VIT is recommended [1]. Reported adherence for VIT ranges from 22% to 84% [4][5][6], whereas the adherence for subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) with inhalant allergens varies from 23% to 89% [7][8][9].…”