Determining factors of patient compliance to treatment in allergic rhinitis.

BACKGROUND Compliance with prescribed treatment is essential for reducing costs of health care and improving efficacy of treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the extent of compliance and identify predictive factors and risk profiles for patient noncompliance with the therapeutic regiments of sublingual immunotherapy and H1-antihistamines. METHODS In this retrospective study we analysed data from two non-interventional studies: one study with a total of 42,111 patients taking H1-antihistamines and one study with 354 patients receiving sublingual immunotherapy. Both studies were approved by the local ethics committees and competent authorities. By performing univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis we calculated odds ratios with a 95% confidence interval for given characteristics. RESULTS There was a compliance rate of 79.6% with the administration of sublingual immunotherapy. Factors associated with compliance were severe nasal, eye and airways symptoms, and strong impairment in social and work life. Compliance with the intake of H1-antihistamines was 98%. Patients with a concomitant disease, especially with a bronchialasthma or a psychiatric disorder had higher odds for being non-compliant. CONCLUSION Compliance with intake of sublingual immunotherapy and H1-antihistamines is high. However, our findings point out that patients with characteristics such as a comorbid bronchial asthma or mild symptoms have higher odds for noncompliance and require attentive monitoring to reduce healthcare costs and morbidity.