Factors affecting time required to reach maintenance dose during subcutaneous immunotherapy

Abstract

Gender, asthma, and age significantly impact the time required to reach maintenance dose during SCIT.

Compliance With Subcutaneous Immunotherapy Appointments in an Urban Tertiary Care Setting

“…[20][21][22] A typical treatment course involves weekly injection of escalating amounts of the allergen until a maximum tolerated or maintenance dose is reached. 23 While the injection frequency can be progressively lengthened during the maintenance phase, generally up to a maximum of 1 month between injections, 13 few studies report good compliance at 3 years, 17 and several report compliance as low as 24% at 3 years. 14,15 This finding is particularly meaningful because while there is benefit within 1 year of treatment, maximum lasting effect is generally only obtained after at least 3 years of treatment.…”

Administration and Burden of Subcutaneous Immunotherapy for Allergic Rhinitis in U.S. and Canadian Clinical Practice

“…A published study of the time required to reach maintenance dose of SCIT reported a range of 76-720 days at 1 site, influenced by gender, asthma, and patient age. 34 Few studies have examined the costs of allergy immunotherapy in North America. One recent retrospective data analysis and 1 model compared the cost of AIT with continued…”

International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology to become a monthly publication in 2013

“…In significant part, that may be because of the financial burden of paying for SLIT in the US where it is not yet FDA approved and, indeed, financial concerns and questions about efficacy were the primary reasons cited for treatment withdrawal (page 280-284) 7 . Jourdy and Reisacher evaluate the factors affecting time to reach maintenance dose during immunotherapy with SCIT (page 294-299) 8 . The mean time was 240 days, with male gender, asthma and more advanced age as factors identified as adversely affecting the time to reach maintenance dosage.…”