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Medicina
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Research on Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology
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Research on Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology

A special issue of Medicina (ISSN 1648-9144). This special issue belongs to the section "Hematology and Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 September 2025 | Viewed by 969

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Constantinos Pitsios

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Interests: anaphylaxis; allergic rhinitis; allergen immunotherapy; hymenoptera venom allergy; food allergy; eosinophilic esophagitis; chronic urticaria
Dr. Athanassios Sinaniotis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Allergy Department, "Sotiria" General Hospital, Athens, Greece
Interests: allergy; clinical immunology; food allergy; allergic rhinitis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Allergies affect individuals of all ages, appearing in about one-fourth of the global population, while asthma is the most common chronic disease among children. Atopic diseases such as allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis greatly impact quality of life, while anaphylaxis is a life-threatening situation. The continuous advancement of biomedical sciences has provided significant progress in improving the diagnosis and therapy of allergic diseases. The introduction of biologicals has changed the treatment landscape in many allergic diseases, while allergen immunotherapy remains the only etiological treatment, and an example of precision medicine offered to patients with respiratory allergies or Hymenoptera venom allergy.

This Special Issue aims to collect selected reviews and original data on research on all topics of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology, in both children and adults. Studies on molecular diagnosis of allergies, diagnostic advances for asthma and allergic rhinitis, and other diagnostic procedures used for allergy are encouraged. Clinical studies on atopic diseases, drug allergy, Hymenoptera venom allergy, angioedema, urticaria, mast cell disorders and anaphylaxis are welcomed. Studies on the treatment of atopic and other allergic diseases may include the use of biologicals, allergen immunotherapy, drug repurposing, new protocols, clinical trials, and emerging issues on their safety and efficacy. The epidemiology of allergy will also be addressed.

Dr. Constantinos Pitsios
Dr. Athanassios Sinaniotis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Medicina is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • atopy
  • anaphylaxis
  • allergic rhinitis
  • asthma
  • atopic dermatitis
  • food allergy
  • eosinophilic esophagitis
  • drug allergy
  • hymenoptera venom
  • angioedema
  • urticaria
  • physical urticaria
  • mastocytosis

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

9 pages, 717 KiB  
Article
Assessing Nasal Nitric Oxide in Allergic Rhinitis: A Controversial Biomarker
by Natalia Louca, Despina Damianou, Nektaria Kostea, Panayiotis Kouis, Panayiotis Yiallouros and Constantinos Pitsios
Medicina 2025, 61(3), 516; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61030516 - 17 Mar 2025
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Abstract
Background and objectives: Increased levels of nitric oxide (NO) are produced in various inflammatory diseases like allergic asthma. Fractional exhaled NO has been studied as a biomarker of type 2 inflammation in asthma, while the use of nasal NO (nNO) as a diagnostic [...] Read more.
Background and objectives: Increased levels of nitric oxide (NO) are produced in various inflammatory diseases like allergic asthma. Fractional exhaled NO has been studied as a biomarker of type 2 inflammation in asthma, while the use of nasal NO (nNO) as a diagnostic tool for allergic rhinitis (AR) is less established. In the present study, we investigated nNO as a potential biomarker for differentiating AR from nonallergic rhinitis (NAR). Materials and methods: Medical students were invited to complete a questionnaire on rhinitis symptoms. Individuals who reported nasal symptoms were invited to participate in the clinical phase of the study, which included considering the patient’s medical history, clinical examination, skin-prick tests (SPTs) for the 14 most relevant allergens in the region, and nNO measurement using the NIOX VERO portable nitric oxide analyzer. Informed consent was obtained at each stage of recruitment and clinical assessment. Results: Overall, 62 out of 122 volunteers recruited reported rhinitis symptoms and were investigated further with nNO measurements and SPTs. In total, 39 had SPT-confirmed AR, while 23 were classified as NAR subjects. Both nNO measurements and SPTs were performed on the same day, during the pollen season. The comparison of mean nNO concentrations (830 ± 247 ppb and 851 ± 373 in AR and NAR groups, respectively) showed no statistically significant difference. Conclusions: we concluded that nNO is not a reliable independent biomarker in the diagnosis of AR. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology)
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15 pages, 1670 KiB  
Article
Is a Drug Allergy in a Patient’s History Real? Our Experience with Diagnostic Drug Provocation Tests
by Begum Gorgulu Akin, Betul Ozdel Ozturk, Makbule Seda Bayrak Durmaz, Ozge Ozturk Aktas and Sadan Soyyigit
Medicina 2025, 61(3), 386; https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina61030386 - 23 Feb 2025
Viewed by 425
Abstract
Background and Objectives: Early-type drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) are observed within the first 1–6 h and most commonly manifest as urticaria and/or angioedema. Detailed anamnesis, skin prick tests (SPTs), intradermal tests (IDTs), and oral/intramuscular/intravenous drug provocation tests (DPTs) can be used to identify [...] Read more.
Background and Objectives: Early-type drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) are observed within the first 1–6 h and most commonly manifest as urticaria and/or angioedema. Detailed anamnesis, skin prick tests (SPTs), intradermal tests (IDTs), and oral/intramuscular/intravenous drug provocation tests (DPTs) can be used to identify the drug responsible. We aimed to evaluate the demographic characteristics, responsible drugs, DHR types, and DPT results used in the diagnosis of drug allergy in patients who presented to our clinic with suspected drug allergies. Materials and Methods: The medical records of patients who presented with a suspicion of an early-type DHR between February 2019 and December 2024 were retrospectively evaluated through the hospital information management system. A total of 188 adults who underwent diagnostic drug testing were included. Results: The diagnosis of drug allergy was confirmed in 51 (27%) patients. In 137 (73%) patients, the diagnosis of drug allergy was excluded after DPTs. In 78 of the 188 patients, there was a DHR to a single suspected drug. The other 110 patients had DHR histories with multiple drugs. The rate of confirmation of a drug allergy from diagnostic tests was higher in those who described a history of multiple drug allergies. Amongst the antibiotics, beta-lactam antibiotics (n = 47) were the most frequently suspected drugs. The rate of positive DPTs (n = 4; 8%) was lower in patients with suspected beta-lactam allergies than other antibiotics (p = 0.002). NSAIDs (n = 60) were the second most common group of suspected drug allergies. With regard to IgE or COX-1-mediated mechanisms, there was no statistically significant difference in DPT positivity among these NSAIDs (p = 0.414). The severity of the initial early-type DHRs were grade 1 (n = 168; 80%), grade 2 (n = 14; 7%), and grade 3 (n = 14; 7%). If the patients had redness, itching, urticaria, angioedema, dyspnea, cyanosis, desaturation, syncope, tachycardia, or hypotension during their initial DHRs, the positive diagnostic drug test rate was statistically significantly higher. However, experiencing diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting were not found to be associated with positive diagnostic drug tests. Drug allergies were confirmed with SPTs or IDTs in all patients in whom adrenaline was used during initial reactions. Conclusions: Contrary to the prevailing notion that drugs (especially beta-lactams) are the predominant cause of allergic reactions, this study demonstrated that the actual prevalence of drug allergies is, in fact, low. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research on Allergy, Asthma, and Clinical Immunology)
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