Evaluation of house dust mite allergy in real life: patients' characteristics and satisfaction with treatment.

Background: HDMs are a ubiquitous allergen source, with a very well defined biology, but their role in clinical settings and in everyday clinical practice is not well characterized. Aim of this cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was to assess the clinical characteristics of HDM-related respiratory allergy in a large population of Italian patients.

Methods: A structured questionnaire was sent to allergists randomly chosen among those of the Italian Federation of Immunology, Allergy and Clinical Immunology (IFIACI). They were asked to fill it with the clinical data of 10-12 consecutive patients referred for respiratory allergy, positive to HDM skin prick test. The questionnaire assessed type and severity of allergy, demographics, yearly distribution of symptoms, treatment, and satisfaction with the therapy.

Results: 45 allergists collected data from 499 patients. Within the evaluated population, 42% had rhinitis only, 45% asthma + rhinitis and 13% asthma alone. Rhinitis was moderate/severe in 51% of patients. Asthma was intermittent in 36% of patients, mild in 37% and moderate in 27%. Conjunctivitis was the most frequent comorbidity (36%), followed by rhinosinusitis (16%), adenoid hypertrophy (6%) and polyposis (5%). Out of the population, 56.2% of patients were not at all or partially not satisfied of their treatment for rhinitis, whereas the percentage of dissatisfied patients was about 53% for asthma therapy. 34% patients (n = 170) were monosensitized to HDM. It is confirmed that patients have more symptoms during the fall-winter periods.

Conclusion: Patients with HDM allergy have frequently moderate-severe rhinitis, and about 50% of them are not satisfied with their treatment.