The impact of repeated drug desensitisation on quality of life in drug hypersensitivity

Abstract

Background

Measurement of disease-specific quality of life (QOL) is crucial in evaluating the effects of disease and response to treatment. Patients' efforts to avoid the responsible medication can have a negative impact on the QOL of patients with drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs). The Drug Hypersensitivity QOL Questionnaire (DrHy-Q) is the only specific tool measuring disease specific QOL in patients with DHRs.

Objective

To evaluate the effect of repeated drug desensitisation on disease-specific QOL using the Turkish version of DrHy-Q in a prospective multicentre study.

Methods

Patients scheduled to undergo repeated desensitisations with the same drug were included in the study. Baseline DrHy-Q scores were recorded for each patient prior to the commencement of the desensitisation procedure. DrHy-Q scores were then calculated following each desensitisation procedure.

Results

The study included 111 patients with two or more desensitisations (age mean ± SD, years: 53.87 ± 11.36, F/M:94/17). The drugs most implicated in DHRs were chemotherapeutics (91 of 111 patients, 82%) followed by biologicals (16 of 111 patients, 14.4%). Before the desensitisation process, the median (min–max) pre-DrHy-Q score was 39 (16–74). The median (min–max) DrHy-Q scores after the first three desensitisation were 35 (19–69), 34 (15–68) and 35 (15–64), respectively. There was a statistically significant improvement in DrHy-Q scores after the first three desensitisation in comparison with baseline.

Conclusion

The health-related disease-specific QOL of patients with hypersensitivity to drugs significantly improved after the first three, but not after subsequent drug desensitisations, as compared to baseline.