• Mike Tankersley, Tonya Winders, Mark Aagren, Henrik Brandi, Mikkel Hasse Pedersen, Anne Sofie Ledgaard Loftager, and Mette Bøgelund.
• Departments of Medicine, Pediatrics and Otolaryngology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, The Tankersley Clinic, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
• Curr Med Res Opin. 2021 Nov 1; 37 (11): 1925-1931.

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to investigate the time use and both direct and indirect costs associated with subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) for adults with allergic rhinitis (AR) and caregivers of children with AR in the US.MethodsWe conducted a survey to assess the retrospective time use and direct costs of SCIT. The populations surveyed included adults and caregivers of children (aged 5-17) with symptomatic AR of moderate or higher severity who are currently receiving or have previously started allergy immunotherapy (AIT). The retrospectively collected, self-reported time consumption and direct costs per clinic visit when receiving SCIT were assessed as well as the productivity loss associated with SCIT. Data were analyzed using univariate descriptive statistics.ResultsThe study included 106 adults with AR and 191 caregivers of children with AR. We found that the median time spent per visit to the clinic was 50 min for both groups, including travel time and time at the clinic. The direct costs related to each visit included parking fees, road tolls and other costs. Adults spent $10 on parking, $9 on tolls and $10 on other costs. Finally, a median of 4 h of work was missed for both the adult patients and the adults accompanying a child.ConclusionsWe found that SCIT is associated with substantial direct patient costs and productivity loss for both adults with AR and caregivers of children with AR.

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