OBJECTIVES: The existing guidelines recommend the minimum effective dose of inhaled corticosteroids in children with persistent asthma. Clinical studies and recent Cochrane reviews stablish the existence of a significant difference in the growth rate of pediatric patients that receive corticoids against those who do not receive them1-5. Another study showed that pediatric patients treated with subcutaneous immunotherapy (IT) to house dust mites required a significant lower dose of fluticasone propionate (PF). Quantify the savings associated with the dose decrease of PF in pediatric patients with allergic asthma treated for three years with high dose specific-allergen immunotherapy to mites METHODS: The average reduction of PF comes from an observational, randomized, three years prospective study (N=65; 33 treated with IT+FP). The number of containers per patient were calculated as well as its economical savings regarding the baseline situation. The immunotherapy used and the PF were accounted for by means of RRP.

RESULTS: The PF accumulated savings is equivalent to 29,3% of the immunotherapy pharmacological costs. Since PF is a reduced contribution medication, the savings for the NHS are 44,9%-67,3% and 5,9%-3,9% for the patient depending on the income range.

CONCLUSIONS: Adding high dose specific-allergen immunotherapy to mites to pharmacological treatment retains control over the allergic asthma and reduces the use of corticoids, consequently minimizing the impact on the growth rate of the patients and generates economical savings.