2023 Volume 126 Issue 7 Pages 844-851
We conducted a questionnaire survey of patients on sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) with cedar pollen in 2022. A total of 442 patients who received SLIT with cedar pollen were enrolled in this study (128: 95: 133: 86, in the order of the 1st to 4th year of treatment; 219 males; age: mean 23.9 ± 16.2 (range, 5-68) years). During the peak season of cedar pollen dispersal, the general symptoms were investigated using a 100-mm VAS and a face scale (FS; 5-point scale from 0 to 4). After the dispersal period, the impression of the patients on SLIT was surveyed on a 5-point scale (very good to bad) and a 100-point scale. Overall, the survey revealed the following impression of the patients on SLIT: significantly improved, 193 cases (43.6%); improved, 128 cases (28.9%); better than before the treatment, 108 cases (24.4%); no change, 12 cases (2.7%); worse, one case (0.2%). The mean score on the 100-point scale was 78.5 ± 19.2. The mean FS was 1.5 ± 0.8, and the mean VAS score for general symptoms during the pollen dispersal phase was 30.5±24.6 mm. All the indices of the outcome were significantly better with increasing years of treatment (p<0.01). There was a correlation between the symptoms during the pollen dispersal period and the impression of the patients post-dispersal period, and a significant correlation was observed between the VAS score and score on the 100-point scale. Most answers on the FS and treatment impressions were consistent, but they differed by 2 or more grades in 20.9% of patients. In the cases with mismatched answers, patients had good impressions even about the symptoms during the dispersal period. The majority of cases were in their first year of treatment. Sublingual immunotherapy is associated with a high level of patient satisfaction. Significantly better results, both in terms of the symptoms during the dispersal phase and the patient impressions, were obtained as the number of years of treatment increased.
