A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study of Patient Experience Among Home Infusion Patients Administering Immune Globulin: A Comparison of Satisfaction Between IV and SC Administration

Introduction Immune globulin (Ig) preparations are administered to patients to treat a variety of diagnoses. Originally developed to increase and maintain IgG levels in patients with antibody deficiencies, immune globulin preparations are also part of the treatment plan for autoimmune or connective tissue disorders, neurologic diseases, and inflammatory conditions. Due to the growth of Ig therapy in the home, there is a need for more valid and comprehensive patient satisfaction data about the home infusion experience that can be used to improve patient care and outcomes. The objective of this research is to analyze patient satisfaction survey data from the National Home Infusion Foundation and evaluate patient satisfaction similarities and differences between 2 groups: intravenous and subcutaneous administration of immune globulin. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed to meet the objective. The data for this study was a secondary analysis of a data set from the National Home Infusion Foundation Benchmarking Program that collects data from home infusion patient satisfaction surveys. Starting in 2019, 127,353 home infusion patient satisfaction surveys were submitted by 29 home infusion providers across the United States. Of these surveys, 326 were from Ig patients, which represents 2.76% of the surveys completed and used in this study. To determine whether a significant difference (p ≤ .05) exists between the Ig therapy types and the response to each survey question, Fisher’s Exact Test was used for dichotomous questions (Yes/No responses) and Chi-Square was used for Likert scaled questions. Results Of the 326 surveys, 59.51% (n=194) were from intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) patients while 40.49% (n=132) were from subcutaneous immune globulin (SCIG) patients. The mean patient age for IVIG and SCIG was 57.51 (SD=16.94) and 49.01 (SD=23.40), respectively. When the IG type is cross tabulated by age group, there is a higher percentage of younger age groups that are administered SCIG than the older age groups and vice versa for IVIG. For the survey question, “I was satisfied with the overall quality of the services provided.” The top box score (Strongly Agree) for the IVIG patients was 84.38 while 86.36% of the SCIG patients strongly agreed. There was no significant difference (p = .710) between the 2 Ig therapy methods of administration. The top 2 response options (Strongly Agree and Agree) for this question are considered favorable and when combined, the IVIG patient percentage is 98.44% and is slightly higher than the SCIG patient combined score of 97.72%. Discussion This research study found no significant difference (p = .710) in overall patient satisfaction between patients who administer their Ig by either IV or SC routes and found similarly high rates of overall satisfaction. Patient care can be individualized in conjunction with changes in the patient’s clinical or personal situations, and that leads to high rates of patient satisfaction. Study results support patient preferences as a key factor in patient satisfaction. Conclusion Patient satisfaction with overall quality of home infusion services was not significantly different between home infusion patients who administer Ig by either the IV or SC method of administration.