Quality of life, treatment beliefs, and treatment satisfaction in children treated for primary immunodeficiency with SCIg

Abstract

Despite the development of subcutaneous treatment, children and adolescents with primary immunodeficiency (PID) are vulnerable to a lower quality of life (QoL) than non-clinical participants. Comparisons have been offered in rare reports with limited sample sizes. No description is available of treatment beliefs and treatment satisfaction with standard tools. The objective of this study was to describe a large sample of patients with pediatric PID on QoL, treatment beliefs and satisfaction, and identify perceived benefits and issues of treatment both in children and parents. A mail-back survey was conducted in 60 patients with PID treated with subcutaneous Ig and their parents from a clinic in Montreal (QC, Canada). We used the standardized tools to assess for QoL levels, beliefs of necessity and concerns with treatment, and dimensions of satisfaction. We collected and coded perceived benefits and issues through open-ended questions. We found lower QoL in children with PID than in healthy non-clinical participants (median d = 0.40) and similar QoL levels to children with cancer (median d = 0.12). Participants considered their treatment as less necessary and able to control the illness and less convenient than patients with other conditions. Children were more prone to consider the treatment as convenient (69 vs. 47% p = .028) but reported more discomfort (24 vs. 10% p = .043) than parents. Results suggest a lower-than-expected QoL in pediatric PID. Aspects of the illness and treatment are probably unclear to patients and their families, as necessity beliefs were lower than expected. Educational strategies should be developed and assessed to address this issue.