The impact of subcutaneous immunotherapy with Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus on the quality of life of patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of asthma and allergic rhinitis in Colombia is increasing at the same rate as it is in other parts of the world. It has been determined that allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy is effective in subjects with allergic rhinitis and asthma that are sensitized to house dust mites: Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.

Objective: To provide evidence on changes in the quality of life of subjects induced by allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy with Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus.

Materials and methods: We selected 76 subjects with a diagnosis of respiratory allergy with sensitization to Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. The instruments used for evaluating the quality of life were Kidscreen-27 and SF-36. These instruments were applied twice for each subject: once during the first visit, and during the twelfth visit corresponding to the one-year follow-up.

Results: Twenty-two subjects completed this study. After one year of treatment with allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy, we found positive changes in terms of the quality of life. In children, the main change was in the School Environment domain while in adults it was in the Physical Function domain.

Conclusion: We evaluated, for the first time in Colombia, benefits induced by allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy for dust mites in terms of quality of life in subjects with allergic rhinitis and asthma. These results demonstrated that allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy produces a positive influence on subjects sensitized to dust mites that received allergen-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy to Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus after one year.