title: Sublingual immunotherapy and quality of life.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) has been shown to be a new and promising treatment for people with various allergic syndromes. Several studies have examined its efficacy. However, significantly fewer investigations have explored its specific impact on the patient's quality of life (QOL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  SLIT has an excellent safety profile, superior in many ways to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT). Additionally, SLIT significantly decreases the use of allergy medications, as well as decreasing the money spent on allergy symptom control. Finally, SLIT has been shown to improve the patient's QOL when compared to placebo or even second-generation antihistamines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increasing data support the use of SLIT as a well tolerated, cost-effective, and time-efficient modality for the treatment of multiple allergic syndromes. However, additional studies are needed, particularly QOL studies which compare SLIT to the FDA-approved SCIT.
authors: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30308, USA.
authors: Adrienne M
authors: AM
authors: Laury
authors: Rodney J
authors: RJ
authors: Schlosser
authors: Sarah K
authors: SK
authors: Wise
mesh_terms: D000286:Administration, Sublingual; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000628:therapy*; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012449:Safety