Sublingual Immunotherapy (SLIT) is widely known to have an excellent safety profile with a 1 in 100 million chance of systemic reactions requiring the administration of epinephrine and has not seen a fatality to date.
In comparison, allergy shots (SCIT) is known for much higher risks associated with treatment including a rate of 1 fatality per 2-2.5 million injections, and 1 case of anaphylaxis per 33,000 injections.
To date, patients of Biscuit Health and other clinics who follow our same protocol and titrations have NEVER experienced a major systemic reaction.
Although the safety profile of SLIT is extremely excellent, we take additional steps at Biscuit Health to ensure patient comfort and to further minimize risk by:
Before a patient is sent their treatment:
Automated identification of patient risk factors through technology
Standardized allergy severity scoring to identify risk score
Clinical review of patient risk factors and risk scores by physician
Providing patients with epinephrine prescriptions
When a patient starts their treatment:
Titration of dosages over 31 days
Training patients how to administer epinephrine prior to their first dosage
Educating patients on a safety action plan prior to their first dosage
Supervising their first dosage over telemedicine
After a patient starts their treatment:
24/7 access to our care team via our mobile app
24/7 access to our safety action plan online
Weekly check-ins during titration period
Quarterly check-ins after titration period
Patients can also complete a daily symptom rating scale to help track the progress of their treatment.
Although our goal at Biscuit is to enable wide accessibility to the most effective allergy treatment possible for Canadians, safety is our top priority. As such, we may revise our treatments and protocols to improve patient safety and patient comfort and are always open to feedback on how we can offer the most effective and safe treatment experience for our patients.