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Adherence to Sublingual Immunotherapy

  • Rhinitis (JJ Oppenheimer and J Corren, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Adherence is a major issue in any medical treatment. Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is particularly affected by a poor adherence because a flawed application prevents the immunological effects that underlie the clinical outcome of the treatment. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) was introduced in the 1990s, and the early studies suggested that adherence and compliance to such a route of administration was better than the traditional subcutaneous route. However, the recent data from manufacturers revealed that only 13 % of patients treated with SLIT reach the recommended 3-year duration. Therefore, improved adherence to SLIT is an unmet need that may be achieved by various approaches. The utility of patient education and accurate monitoring during the treatment was demonstrated by specific studies, while the success of technology-based tools, including online platforms, social media, e-mail, and a short message service by phone, is currently considered to improve the adherence. This goal is of pivotal importance to fulfill the object of SLIT that is to modify the natural history of allergy, ensuring a long-lasting clinical benefit, and a consequent pharmaco-economic advantage, when patients complete at least a 3-year course of treatment.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Stanley Norman for the English language revision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, via Bignami 1, 20100, Milan, Italy

    Cristoforo Incorvaia & Gualtiero Leo

  2. Allergy Unit, Sant’Anna Hospital, Como, Italy

    Marina Mauro

  3. Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Pathophysiology Unit, Vittore Buzzi Children’s Hospital, Istituti Clinici di Perfezionamento, Milan, Italy

    Gualtiero Leo

  4. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Parma, Parma, Italy

    Erminia Ridolo

Authors
  1. Cristoforo Incorvaia
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  2. Marina Mauro
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  3. Gualtiero Leo
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  4. Erminia Ridolo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cristoforo Incorvaia.

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Conflict of Interest

Dr. Incorvaia reports personal fees from Stallergenes Italy. Drs. Mauro, Leo, and Ridolo declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Rhinitis

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Incorvaia, C., Mauro, M., Leo, G. et al. Adherence to Sublingual Immunotherapy. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 16, 12 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-015-0586-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-015-0586-1

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