Satisfaction assessment with subcutaneous immunotherapy by ESPIA questionnaire in a pediatric population with...

Assess satisfaction with subcutaneous immunotherapy in patients with asthma, by using the Satisfaction Scale for Patients Receiving Allergen Immunotherapy (ESPIA) questionnaire which was validated in Spanish language.

A cross-sectional, observational, unicenter study was carried out in a National Allergy Reference Center in Mexico in patients older than 6 years of age, diagnosed with Allergic Asthma with positive allergy biomarkers (IgE, Skin Tests, Nasal Mucus Cytology, Eosinophils in Blood) with a mild or moderate severity classification with a Subcutaneous Immunotherapy scheme lasting a minimum of 12 months. The level of satisfaction was assessed during the treatment by the ESPIA questionnaire, and the level of control was measured by using the Asthma Control Test. The correlation between the characteristics of the population, the control of the disease, the severity of the disease and the satisfaction with the treatment was analyzed using the ANOVA test (categorical variables) or the Pearson and Spearman coefficients correlation (continuous variables).

A total of 147 patients (mean age 10.08 years, range 4-17 years, 82 men [56%]) were included in the study. Among them 122 (82.9%) suffered some type of comorbidity. The average Score of the ESPIA questionnaire to measure Satisfaction of treatment with Subcutaneous Immunotherapy was 87.12. No statistical differences were found in treatment satisfaction between men and women (p>0.05) and between polysensitized patients with more than 3 allergens and with less than 3 allergens. (p>0.05). There was a lower level of satisfaction with Immunotherapy measured with the ESPIA questionnaire in patients with comorbidity of Atopic Dermatitis. A correlation was demonstrated between levels of disease control and levels of satisfaction with treatment with Subcutaneous Immunotherapy measured with the ESPIA Questionnaire.

Subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy was associated with high treatment satisfaction in pediatric patients with allergic asthma. Treatment satisfaction showed a positive correlation with asthma control, supporting the clinical relevance of patient-reported outcomes in the evaluation of immunotherapy effectiveness.