Search

In Sweden, allergy immunotherapy (AIT) is available as either subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) injections or sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) tablets and is used to treat moderate-severe allergic rhinitis (AR). This study sought to determine treatment-related CO2 emissions and travel times in Swedish patients receiving either SCIT or SLIT-tablets. A list of specialized Swedish AR clinics that administer AIT was determined, and respective co-ordinates retrieved. Swedish municipality population data were obtained from a national database. The mean distance from each Swedish municipality to the nearest AR clinic was calculated, adjusted using a detour index, and weighted by estimated patient population size. Transport modality data were obtained from a Swedish urban transport study and CO2 emissions were obtained from Government sources. The mean number of annual SLIT-tablets and SCIT doses required were calculated based on product labels and clinical expert input. The annual number of healthcare professional interactions were layered into the model to estimate changes in mean patient travel time, distance, and travel-related CO2 emissions associated with using SCIT versus SLIT-tablets. Mean annual travel-related CO2 emissions were 410 tonnes (to two significant figures [s.f.]; standard deviation [SD] 90) with SLIT-tablets, versus 1700 tonnes (SD 380) for SCIT, resulting in mean annual savings of approximately 1300 tonnes (SD 290) of CO2 if all AIT patients were to receive SLIT-tablets instead of SCIT, over 380 times greater than 2021 average Swedish CO2 emissions per capita. Approximate mean annual travel times for patients taking SLIT-tablets were 66,500 h (three s.f.; SD 14,400), and 278,000 h (SD 60,200) for SCIT, resulting in mean annual savings of 211,000 h (SD 45,800) if all AIT patients were to receive SLIT-tablets instead of SCIT. Compared with SCIT injections, SLIT-tablets led to substantial reductions in treatment-related CO2 emissions and travel times for Swedish patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: In Sweden, approximately 6% of children and 10% of adults suffer from house dust mite (HDM) allergy with symptoms of allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. Treatment is aimed at reducing HDM exposure and to control the symptoms of allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma by symptom-relieving pharmacotherapy. This pharmacotherapy is often effective, but some patients remain inadequately controlled. For these patients, allergy immunotherapy (AIT, subcutaneous or sublingual) with repeated administration of HDM allergen should be considered. The objective of this study was to compare the costs for sublingual AIT (SLIT; SQ SLIT-tablet) to the costs for subcutaneous AIT (SCIT; SQ SCIT) for the treatment of HDM allergy in a cost-minimisation analysis (CMA). Methods: The CMA included resources (and costs) for treatment, healthcare visits, travelling and lost productivity. Resource use based on Swedish clinical treatment practice and costs were obtained from medical price lists. Analyses were conducted from the societal, as well as healthcare perspective, by use of a time horizon of 3 years. Results: The results show that SQ SLIT-tablet is a cost-saving treatment as compared to SQ SCIT for the treatment of HDM allergy (€6800 over 3 years). The results are mainly driven by the cost of healthcare visits and the frequency of SCIT administrations. Conclusion: In conclusion, cost-savings of €6800 over 3 years are expected from treating HDM allergy with SQ SLIT-tablet as compared to SQ SCIT, including costs for treatment, healthcare visits, travelling and lost productivity. The reduced number of healthcare visits compensates for higher medication costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]