The place of new grass pollen immunotherapy tablets for the management of patients with respiratory allergies in primary care

Introduction. - New allergen immunotherapy (AJT) tablets are available to treat patients allergic to grass pollens. General practitioners (GPs) are at the forefront of the management of these common allergic diseases. Objective. - The aim of the study was to determine the percentage of patients who could benefit from AIT tablets and to evaluate GPs' perception, practice and information regarding AIT. Methods. - A questionnaire-based declarative electronic survey was conducted on 2000 GPs of Languedoc-Roussillon region from October to December 2014. Results. - A total of 429 physicians answered the questionnaire The response rate was 21.5%. Seventy percent of the GPs were treating 10 to 30% of their patients for respiratory allergies and less than 5% had already been treated by AIT. Most GPs (66%) stated that new treatments would be useful in more than 5% of these patients. While some of them had no opinion on AIT, the majority of GPs had a positive image of this treatment and considered it in accordance to the available recommendations. They provided a simple clinical follow-up with the help of the allergist, but 89% said they were not sufficiently informed about AIT. Conclusion. - The new AIT treatments do not have an important place in general practice because they are less known and used by primary care physicians. Allergen immunotherapy raises the interest of GPs, who have a positive perception of this treatment. Updated information and training in association with allergists could make a difference in the management of allergic diseases. (C) 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.