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Updated: May 6, 2026
Sublingual Immunotherapy as an Alternative to Induce Protection Against Acute Respiratory Infections
Published on: August 30, 2014
Patient compliance to sublingual immunotherapy for mite-induced allergic rhinitis: A retrospective study
Wen-Jin Wan1, Qiu-Yan Xu2, Mei-Ping Lu1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology & Clinical Allergy Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Background:
Compliance to sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is generally low, resulting in reduced short- and long-term clinical efficacy. Compliance is a critical factor determining the success of allergic rhinitis (AR) treatment.
Objective:
To analyze the compliance of patients with house dust mite (HDM)-induced AR to SLIT and the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on compliance.
Methods:
The clinical data of 3117 patients with HDM-induced AR who started SLIT between July 2018 and April 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. We assessed the reasons for non-compliance and the changes in non-compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period.
Results:
Of 3117 patients, 507 (16.27%) patients (ages, 5-67 years) were identified as non-compliant. The most common reason for non-compliance was poor efficacy (27.22%). The non-compliance rate was highest during 24-36 months of SLIT (28.13%, 153/544), followed by 12-24 months (7.02%, 91/1296). Non-compliance was significantly higher in adolescents/adults than in children (P = 0.000). Although the generalized linear model analysis indicated that compliance was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during 3-6 months of SLIT, the overall compliance to SLIT was not significantly affected by the pandemic, according to the Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.
Conclusions:
The non-compliance rate of SLIT in this study was low, and poor efficacy was the most common reason for non-compliance. The compliance of adolescents/adults was lower than that of children. The COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly impact compliance to SLIT, which is an appropriate strategy for the home treatment of AR patients during major public health events.
