Satisfaction and perceived effectiveness in patients on subcutaneous immunotherapy with a high-dose hypoallergenic pollen extract.

This study was designed to determine the level of satisfaction, tolerance and perceived effectiveness by patients in the first pollen season after starting treatment with Alergovit(®). For this purpose, a nationwide, retrospective, multicentre and cross-sectional observational study was carried on 256 patients. Perceived effectiveness by the patients was measured using a visual analogue scale and was clinically significant in 92.4% of the patients. The satisfaction level was evaluated with a specific questionnaire. 32.5% of the patients were totally satisfied with Allergovit(®) and 48.8% reported a high degree of satisfaction. The treatment was well tolerated by 99.2% of the patients. Our results demonstrate that subcutaneous immunotherapy with Allergovit(®) is effective and well-tolerated in routine clinical practice.

Safety of cluster specific immunotherapy with a modified high-dose house dust mite extract.

INTRODUCTION: Although the efficacy and safety of high dose hypoallergenic mite subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) using a conventional administration schedule has already been demonstrated, there is no reported experience on the safety of these extracts with cluster schedules. We wanted to determine whether the use of a cluster schedule of a hypoallergenic allergen with a high concentration of house dust mite allergens commonly used in normal practice was safe and well-tolerated in patients with dust mite allergy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Multicentre, observational, retrospective study of dust mite allergic patients treated with a cluster schedule of SCIT (Acaroid; Day 1: 300/300 therapeutic units, TU--Day 8: 1000/1000 TU--Day 15: 3000/3000 TU) in 23 Spanish sites. RESULTS: Cluster schedule was used on 434 patients (40.1% children), with a total of 3256 doses (38.2% in children). There were 88 clinically relevant adverse reactions, 79 out of them local and 9 systemic (but mild-moderate) that amounted to 2.7% of all the administered doses. All the patients fulfilled the cluster schedule. CONCLUSIONS: Cluster schedule with high dose hypoallergenic mite-SCIT was safe and well-tolerated in routine clinical practice. Therefore, its use could reduce the costs and time needed to achieve the desired maintenance dose and increase compliance.

Autonomic and peripheral neuropathy in chronic alcoholic liver disease.

Peripheral and autonomic neuropathy has been evaluated, both by clinical and neurophysiological and by clinical methods, respectively, in 33 alcoholics, 20 of them cirrhotics. Nerve dysfunction was compared with liver function parameters, the Child-Pugh score, and parameters derived from ethanol consumption. Few relationships were obtained between the autonomic and peripheral nerve dysfunction, and between these and liver function impairment, although Pugh's score was higher when hyporeflexia and altered heart rate response to orthostatism were present. Thus, in the alcoholic, autonomic and peripheral neuropathy, seem to be dependent on each other, whereas there appears to be a weak correlation between liver function and both autonomic and peripheral neuropathy.