BACKGROUND: Seasonal allergic rhinitis is often regarded as a trivial condition which patients should treat themselves. However, a significant proportion of sufferers are not fully controlled on standard hay fever medication, either because they do not use it properly or because their symptoms are resistant to standard therapy. The latter group may be suitable for allergen immunotherapy, which was once widely available in UK general practice but is now only available through specialist centres. AIMS: To describe the symptom control of patients with hay fever, to assess concordance with prescribed medication, and to estimate the number of patients who may benefit from referral for allergen immunotherapy. SETTING: General practices in Hampshire and Dorset, UK. METHOD: Survey of adult hay fever sufferers prescribed a non-sedating antihistamine and nasal steroid spray by their general practitioner. A postal questionnaire was sent to all eligible patients aged 16-64 registered with 16 general practices. Self-assessment of symptom control and reported compliance with medication were used to identify those patients who were suboptimally controlled and might therefore benefit from immunotherapy. RESULTS: Eight hundred and forty-six out of 62500 registered patients aged 16-64 (1.4%) were receiving both drugs, and responses were received from 627 (74.1%); 526 of these met the full entry criteria. One hundred and forty-two patients (27.0%) were using both types of drug regularly. Of the 142 patients using optimum pharmacotherapy, 54 (38.0%) reported good control of their hay fever symptoms. The remaining 62.0% experienced troublesome residual symptoms and described symptom control as partial or poor. Among those using suboptimal pharmacotherapy, 181/376 (48.1%) reported good control. CONCLUSION: Many patients are using treatment inappropriately. Current guidelines need to be applied better but there is also a significant burden of residual symptoms, even among those receiving current optimal therapy. This indicates a need for patients with severe summer hay fever to receive specialist assessment.
BACKGROUND:Seasonal allergic rhinitis is often regarded as a trivial condition which patients should treat themselves. However, a significant proportion of sufferers are not fully controlled on standard hay fever medication, either because they do not use it properly or because their symptoms are resistant to standard therapy. The latter group may be suitable for allergen immunotherapy, which was once widely available in UK general practice but is now only available through specialist centres. AIMS: To describe the symptom control of patients with hay fever, to assess concordance with prescribed medication, and to estimate the number of patients who may benefit from referral for allergen immunotherapy. SETTING: General practices in Hampshire and Dorset, UK. METHOD: Survey of adult hay fever sufferers prescribed a non-sedating antihistamine and nasal steroid spray by their general practitioner. A postal questionnaire was sent to all eligible patients aged 16-64 registered with 16 general practices. Self-assessment of symptom control and reported compliance with medication were used to identify those patients who were suboptimally controlled and might therefore benefit from immunotherapy. RESULTS: Eight hundred and forty-six out of 62500 registered patients aged 16-64 (1.4%) were receiving both drugs, and responses were received from 627 (74.1%); 526 of these met the full entry criteria. One hundred and forty-two patients (27.0%) were using both types of drug regularly. Of the 142 patients using optimum pharmacotherapy, 54 (38.0%) reported good control of their hay fever symptoms. The remaining 62.0% experienced troublesome residual symptoms and described symptom control as partial or poor. Among those using suboptimal pharmacotherapy, 181/376 (48.1%) reported good control. CONCLUSION: Many patients are using treatment inappropriately. Current guidelines need to be applied better but there is also a significant burden of residual symptoms, even among those receiving current optimal therapy. This indicates a need for patients with severe summer hay fever to receive specialist assessment.
Authors: Alkis Togias; Peter J Gergen; Jack W Hu; Denise C Babineau; Robert A Wood; Robyn T Cohen; Melanie M Makhija; Gurjit K Khurana Hershey; Carolyn M Kercsmar; Rebecca S Gruchalla; Andrew H Liu; Emily Wang; Haejin Kim; Carin I Lamm; Leonard B Bacharier; Dinesh Pillai; Steve M Sigelman; James E Gern; William W Busse Journal: J Allergy Clin Immunol Date: 2018-09-11 Impact factor: 10.793
Authors: Jörg Kleine-Tebbe; Mikkel Walmar; Klaus Bitsch-Jensen; Elke Decot; Oliver Pfaar; Dolores Hernández Fernández de Rojas; Fernando Rodriguez Journal: Clin Drug Investig Date: 2014-08 Impact factor: 2.859
Authors: Frederick M Schaffer; Larry M Garner; Myla Ebeling; Jeffrey M Adelglass; Thomas C Hulsey; Andrew R Naples Journal: Int Forum Allergy Rhinol Date: 2015-10-14 Impact factor: 3.858
Authors: Moises A Calderon; Pascal Demoly; Roy Gerth van Wijk; Jean Bousquet; Aziz Sheikh; Anthony Frew; Glenis Scadding; Claus Bachert; Hans J Malling; Rudolph Valenta; Beatrice Bilo; Antonio Nieto; Cezmi Akdis; Jocelyne Just; Carmen Vidal; Eva M Varga; Emilio Alvarez-Cuesta; Barbara Bohle; Albrecht Bufe; Walter G Canonica; Victoria Cardona; Ronald Dahl; Alain Didier; Stephen R Durham; Peter Eng; Montserrat Fernandez-Rivas; Lars Jacobsen; Marek Jutel; Jörg Kleine-Tebbe; Ludger Klimek; Jan Lötvall; Carmen Moreno; Ralph Mosges; Antonella Muraro; Bodo Niggemann; Giovanni Pajno; Giovanni Passalacqua; Oliver Pfaar; Sabina Rak; Gianenrico Senna; Gabriela Senti; Erkka Valovirta; Marianne van Hage; Johannes C Virchow; Ulrich Wahn; Nikolaos Papadopoulos Journal: Clin Transl Allergy Date: 2012-10-30 Impact factor: 5.871