Background: This study aimed to develop a novel dose strategy for subcutaneous immunotherapy to reduce medical waste and financial burdens for patients who are required to restart subcutaneous immunotherapy. Patients & methods: A prospective, nonrandomized concurrent controlled trial was performed to assess the safety and advantages of the novel dose-adjustment protocol compared with the conventional one. 76 subjects were grouped to receive novel or conventional dose-adjustment protocols. Results: The injections, visits and time needed to reach the pre-established dose with the novel regimen were decreased. Furthermore, there were no differences in side reactions between the two groups. Conclusion: The novel protocol seemed safe and well tolerated, offering the advantages of time efficiency and reduced healthcare costs.
Keywords: allergic rhinitis; conventional immunotherapy; house dust mite; safety; subcutaneous immunotherapy.
A common sickness people can acquire from house dust mites is called allergic rhinitis. One way to treat it is with regular shots of a special medicine made from dust mite allergens. This is termed subcutaneous immunotherapy. Patients need to take these shots in their arm for about 3–5 years. Initially, the shot is given once a week for at least 15 weeks; then the frequency can be reduced to every 4–8 weeks. However, if a patient misses their scheduled shot, they may have to start getting weekly shots again. This can lead to a lot of medical waste and can be expensive for patients. Therefore we developed a new way to give these shots. In this study, patients who needed to start weekly shots again were administered this new treatment plan. The new plan significantly reduced the number of doctor’s visits and shots. This new and improved treatment regimen is convenient and saves patients time and money. The side effects of this new treatment method were not higher compared with the traditional treatment. Therefore this new treatment method is safe, cost-effective and patient-friendly. It also saves time and reduces both medical waste and financial costs.