Treatment Satisfaction During Routine Treatment with the SQ®-Standardised Grass Allergy Immunotherapy Tablet: A Non-interventional Observational Study

Abstract

Therapy with the SQ®-standardised grass sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT)-tablet has been shown to be efficacious and well-tolerated in a large clinical development programme. The objective of this study was to investigate patients’ satisfaction with treatment by the SQ® grass SLIT-tablet during routine application. In the setting of a non-interventional, open-label, observational study, patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis were started on the SQ® grass SLIT-tablet 4–5 months before the grass pollen season and were followed until the end of the season. Treatment satisfaction was assessed by patients completing the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM II, German version 1.4) before and after the grass pollen season. Compliance and changes in subjective well-being were also assessed. Data of 271 patients treated with the SQ® grass SLIT-tablet by 117 allergists in Germany were analysed. The TSQM score for global satisfaction was (mean ± standard deviation) 79.40 ± 19.98 after 6–9 months of therapy, with the highest scores for the dimensions side effects (92.89 ± 16.49) and convenience (88.19 ± 14.33), followed by effectiveness (70.74 ± 25.20). Treatment effect was assessed by the treating physician as very good or good in 83.1% of patients. The subjective well-being of the patients compared with the previous years was assessed as improved by 87.8% of the patients at the end of the study. Global satisfaction measured with the TSQM in patients treated with the SQ® grass SLIT-tablet was high, with the highest scores in the dimensions side effects and convenience, followed by effectiveness, and increased between 3 months and 6–9 months of treatment initiation. ALK-Abello Arzneimittel GmbH