King Catherine, Cox Fionnuala, Sloan Anne, McCrea Patricia, Edgar J David, Conlon Niall
Department of Clinical and Laboratory Immunology, St. James's Hospital, James's Street, Dublin 8, Ireland.
Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
World Allergy Organ J. 2021 Oct;14(10):100587. doi: 10.1016/j.waojou.2021.100587. Epub 2021 Sep 21.
Efforts to reduce non-urgent hospital attendances during the COVID-19 pandemic have been the focus of much attention from healthcare professionals worldwide. In Ireland, due to funding constraints omalizumab is only available for hospital-based administration. Fifty-eight patients with chronic spontaneous urticaria and angioedema (CSU) receiving omalizumab in our centre were rapidly transitioned to home self-administration at the start of the pandemic. We conducted an anonymised patient survey after 3 months of home therapy with the aim of characterizing the patient experience throughout this period. 41 patients participated in our questionnaire (71% response rate). 93% of patients favored self-injection of omalizumab from home, with respondents citing cost savings, time savings, improved flexibility, fewer hospital visits, and less risk of exposure to COVID-19 infection as particular benefits. Concerns regarding home administration including injecting incorrectly, forgetting a dose, or having a reaction were reported very infrequently. Eighty-three percent (83%) of patients wished to continue with home therapy long-term. This survey highlights broadly positive experiences for patients rapidly transitioning to home omalizumab administration. This data will be useful to inform healthcare funders in decisions regarding patient-centred care in CSU. Facilitating home omalizumab therapy in suitable CSU patients should be strongly considered in the post-pandemic setting.
在新冠疫情期间，减少非紧急情况下的医院就诊人次成为全球医疗专业人员关注的焦点。在爱尔兰，由于资金限制，奥马珠单抗仅可在医院进行给药。在疫情开始时，我们中心的58名接受奥马珠单抗治疗的慢性自发性荨麻疹和血管性水肿（CSU）患者迅速转为在家自行给药。在进行了3个月的家庭治疗后，我们开展了一项匿名患者调查，旨在了解患者在此期间的体验。41名患者参与了我们的问卷调查（回复率为71%）。93%的患者赞成在家自行注射奥马珠单抗，受访者提到节省费用、节省时间、灵活性提高、减少医院就诊次数以及降低感染新冠病毒的风险等是特别的好处。关于在家给药的担忧，如注射错误、忘记服药或出现不良反应等情况很少被报告。83%的患者希望长期继续在家治疗。这项调查凸显了患者迅速转为在家自行注射奥马珠单抗的总体积极体验。这些数据将有助于医疗保健资助者在关于CSU患者以患者为中心的护理决策中提供参考。在疫情后环境中，应强烈考虑为合适的CSU患者提供在家使用奥马珠单抗治疗的便利。
