Search Results (13)

Background: Food allergy (FA)-related bullying is a significant public health concern affecting pediatric patients. This systematic review investigates the prevalence, characteristics, and psychosocial impact of FA-related bullying, as well as current intervention strategies within educational and healthcare settings. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted across the PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases, covering publications up to February 2024. The review followed PRISMA guidelines and included studies on children and adolescents (0–18 years) diagnosed with FAs. Studies were selected based on eligibility criteria and assessed for quality using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Results: The initial search identified a total of 260 records (6 from scientific databases and 254 from registries). Twenty-six studies met the inclusion criteria. The findings of these studies reveal that FA-related bullying is prevalent, with rates varying between 17% and 60%, depending on the study population and methods. Bullying often involves verbal teasing, social exclusion, and physical threats using allergens, presenting both psychological and physical risks. Psychological consequences include increased anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal, which persist over time, significantly impacting quality of life for both children and their families. Notably, bullying often occurs in school settings, emphasizing the need for targeted interventions. Conclusion: FA-related bullying profoundly affects mental health and quality of life for affected children and their families. Interventions, such as school-based allergy education programs and policies promoting inclusivity and safety, have shown promise in reducing bullying incidents. A collaborative approach involving healthcare providers, educators, and policymakers is essential to mitigate the impact of FA-related bullying and improve outcomes for affected children. Full article

Randomized controlled trials have demonstrated responses to clinical parameters, but a significant proportion of allergy patients in real-life settings would have been excluded from such studies. Therefore, real-world research is needed, and there is a growing body of information on allergen immunotherapy’s long-term effectiveness and safety. Real-world evidence can be a valuable instrument to better understand the patient’s journey and the effectiveness and safety of therapies. For this purpose, a registry will be used for the first time in Italy to evaluate the impact of allergen immunotherapy on several outcomes, including quality of life and disease-related effects in the pediatric and adult allergic population with a socio-economic assessment and respect to real-world health. Full article

Background and Objective: Rescue Helicobacter pylori eradication can be challenging. Rifabutin (RBT) demonstrates high activity against Helicobacter pylori and is incorporated into various rescue eradication regimens. This exploratory study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a rescue regimen comprising RBT, metronidazole (MNZ), and vonoprazan (VPZ). Methods: This prospective, single-center, single-arm, interventional study was performed in Japan. Eligible patients were those who underwent failed primary eradication treatment (7-day treatment with three drugs: VPZ or a proton pump inhibitor [PPI], amoxicillin [AMPC], and clarithromycin) and secondary eradication treatment (7-day treatment with three drugs: VPZ or a PPI, AMPC, and MNZ) and those who were unable to receive first- and second-line therapy because of penicillin allergy. Twenty Helicobacter pylori-positive patients were treated with RBT (150 mg twice daily), MNZ (250 mg twice daily), and VPZ (20 mg twice daily) for 10 days (RBT-MNZ-VPZ therapy). Eradication success was evaluated using the urea breath test. Drug susceptibility test results were available in 16 patients. This study is registered in the Japan Registry of Clinical Trials (jRCT031220504). Results: The intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) eradication rates of RBT-MNZ-VPZ therapy were 70% (90% confidence interval [CI]: 49.2%–86.0%) and 72.2% (95% CI: 50.2%–88.4%), respectively. In the MNZ-susceptible subgroup, the ITT (n = 8) and PP (n = 7) eradication rates were 100% (90% CI: 68.8%–100%) and 100% (90% CI: 65.2%–100%). In the MNZ-resistant subgroup, the ITT (n = 8) and PP (n = 7) eradication rates were both 62.5% (90% CI: 28.9%–88.9%). All infections were RBT-susceptible. Conclusions: These findings suggest that RBT-MNZ-VPZ therapy may be a promising rescue regimen, especially in MNZ- and RBT-susceptible infections or patients with penicillin allergy. Full article

Background: Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is a well-established and efficient method of causative treatment for allergic rhinitis, asthma and insect venom allergy. Traditionally, a recent history of malignant neoplasm is regarded as a contraindication to AIT due to concerns that AIT might stimulate tumor growth. However, there are no data confirming that the silencing of the Th2 response affects prognosis in cancer. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate frequency of malignant tumors in patients undergoing AIT and the association between AIT and cancer-related mortality. Patients and Methods: A group of 2577 patients with insect venom allergy undergoing AIT in 10 Polish allergology centers was screened in the Polish National Cancer Registry. Data on cancer type, diagnosis time and patients’ survival were collected and compared with the general population. Results: In the study group, 86 cases of malignancies were found in 85 patients (3.3% of the group). The most common were breast (19 cases), lung (9 cases), skin (8 cases), colon and prostate cancers (5 cases each). There were 21 cases diagnosed before AIT, 38 during and 27 after completing AIT. Laplace’s crude incidence rate was 159.5/100,000/year (general population rate: 260/100,000/year). During follow-up, 13 deaths related to cancer were revealed (15% of patients with cancer). Laplace’s cancer mortality rate was 37.3/100,000/year (general population rate: 136.8/100,000/year). Conclusions: Malignancy was found in patients undergoing immunotherapy less often than in the general population. Patients with cancer diagnosed during or after AIT did not show a lower survival rate, which suggests that AIT does not affect the prognosis. Full article

Children with food allergies are at higher risk for severe anaphylactic reactions and for key nutrient deficiency. In order to address these concerns, enable early detection, and improve the monitoring of children with food allergies, an innovative IT platform will be developed by IT experts (IN2 Ltd. Zagreb, Croatia, part of Constellation Software Inc. (Toronto, ON, Canada)) and Srebrnjak Children’s Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia (SCH) for the effective implementation of personalized balanced nutrition in preschool institutions in Croatia. Additionally, the data obtained through this research, including epidemiological data on allergic diseases, clinical data (diagnostic allergy tests and others), anthropometry, and physical activity status, will be used to create a national Allergy registry. Other than being a tool for personalized and balanced nutrition for children, especially those with special dietary requirements (including food allergy and intolerance), the IT platform developed in this study will enable the continuous monitoring of these children as a part of their clinical management plan and earlier detection of food allergies, intolerance, and other conditions, even outside of the healthcare system. This research also aims at optimizing current and developing novel personalized therapeutic regimes, detecting novel early biomarkers in children with food allergies and intolerances, and involving all key stakeholders (caregivers, preschool institutions, etc.) in the shared-care approach in the management of food allergies in children. Full article

Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are a heterogeneous group of inherited disorders, and almost 500 genes associated with these disorders have been identified. Defects in IEI genes lead to diverse clinical manifestations including increased susceptibility to recurrent or prolonged infections, immune dysregulation phenotypes (such as severe atopy, allergy, autoimmunity, and uncontrolled inflammation, lymphoproliferation), as well as predisposition to malignancies. Although the majority of IEI patients present hematologic cancers, the characteristics of other types of cancers are not well described in these groups of patients. By investigating 5384 IEI patients registered in the Iranian national registry the clinical and immunologic phenotypes of patients with non-hematologic cancers were compared with other malignant and non-malignant patients. Solid tumors were reported <20% of malignant IEI patients (n = 27/144 patients) and appeared to be very heterogeneous by type and localization as well as molecular defects (mainly due to DNA repair defect resulted from ATM deficiency). The correlation between the type of malignancy and survival status was remarkable as patients with non-hematologic cancers survive higher than IEI patients with hematologic cancers. Our findings showed that different types of malignancy could be associated with specific entities of IEI. Therefore, the education of physicians about the risk of malignancies in IEI is required for personalized treatment and appropriate management of patients. Full article

The most common causes of anaphylaxis, according to various authors and depending on the age of the studied groups, are: Hymenoptera venom, food, and medications. Unfortunately, we are not always able to indicate the cause of anaphylaxis. There are data in the literature where as many as 41% of all cases are idiopathic anaphylaxis. Since the introduction of new diagnostic methods such as molecular diagnostics (MD) in our centre, the percentage of idiopathic anaphylaxis in the Anaphylaxis Register has significantly decreased. The purpose of this study was to identify possible causes of idiopathic anaphylaxis in patients with a history of moderate to severe anaphylactic reactions. After using MD, the causative agent was found in another 29 people. The proportion of people with idiopathic anaphylaxis in the Registry decreased from 9.2% to 3.5%. There were no significant differences in the incidence, although men appear to be slightly more common in primary idiopathic anaphylaxis. The mean age of primary idiopathic anaphylaxis was 40 years, but this was as high as 51 for anaphylaxis with alpha-gal allergy. Exercise may or may not be present as a cofactor despite its established role, e.g., in wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA). In most of the analyzed cases, i.e., 70%, the reaction took place within an hour. The longest time interval from exposure to the development of symptoms is in the case of alpha-gal allergy; in this analysis, it was at least 5 h after ingestion of the so-called “red meat”. Patients are not aware of the disease, or further attacks cannot be prevented. As many as 80% had idiopathic anaphylaxis prior to visiting the centre, and 80% developed anaphylaxis after visiting the centre, which emphasizes the need to not stop the medical team in their search for the causes. As many as 93% of cases required medical intervention, of which adrenaline was used only in 34.5%, antihistamines in 86%, systemic glucocorticosteroids (sCS) in 75%, and fluids in 62% of cases. A total of 83% of patients received an emergency kit for self-administration. Idiopathic anaphylaxis can be resolved as known-cause anaphylaxis after a thorough medical history and, if possible, without exposing the patient after using appropriate, modern in vitro diagnostic methods, including molecular diagnostics. The diagnosis of idiopathic anaphylaxis should extend the diagnosis to include alpha-gal syndrome, LTP syndrome and WDEIA. Full article

The European Anaphylaxis Registry (NORA) was designed in order to create a comprehensive Anaphylaxis Registry regarding anaphylactic reactions characteristics and management in several European countries, including Greece. This study aims to analyze Greek data obtained in the NORA framework and describe anaphylaxis’ characteristics in this pediatric cohort. An online questionnaire was filled out by the Allergy Unit of the 2nd Pediatric Department of NKUA, regarding reported anaphylaxis characteristics. A total of 284 pediatric patients were analyzed. Patients were predominantly male. A previous, mild reaction (59.5%) to the same allergen was documented in 44.4% of patients. The most common system involved was skin and/or mucosa, followed by the respiratory system. Food was the most common eliciting factor (82.4%). First line treatment was most administered solely by a healthcare professional, followed by a lay person (38.7%). Auto injected adrenaline use by lay persons was third in frequency (29.2%). Most patients received post-reaction counseling and appropriate drug prescription. This study provides insight in anaphylactic cases’ characteristics and management in a Greek pediatric cohort. A low rate of adrenaline autoinjector administration was noted in lay people; however, drug prescription and counseling following the reaction could help increase correct acute anaphylaxis management in the future. Full article

Artificial light at night (ALAN) exposure is associated with the disruption of human circadian processes. Through numerous pathophysiological mechanisms such as melatonin dysregulation, it is hypothesised that ALAN exposure is involved in asthma and allergy, mental illness, and cancer outcomes. There are numerous existing studies considering these relationships; however, a critical appraisal of available evidence on health outcomes has not been completed. Due to the prevalence of ALAN exposure and these outcomes in society, it is critical that current evidence of their association is understood. Therefore, this systematic scoping review will aim to assess the association between ALAN exposure and asthma and allergy, mental health, and cancer outcomes. This systematic scoping review will be conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. We will search bibliographic databases, registries, and references. We will include studies that have described potential sources of ALAN exposure (such as shift work or indoor and outdoor exposure to artificial light); have demonstrated associations with either allergic conditions (including asthma), mental health, or cancer-related outcomes; and are published in English in peer-reviewed journals. We will conduct a comprehensive literature search, title and abstract screening, full-text review, and data collection and analysis for each outcome separately. Full article

Breastfeeding is associated with numerous health benefits, but early life nutrition has not been specifically studied in the neurodevelopmental disorder fragile X syndrome (FXS). Herein, I evaluate associations between the consumption of breast milk during infancy and the prevalence of autism, allergies, diabetes, gastrointestinal (GI) problems and seizures in FXS. The study design was a retrospective survey of families enrolled in the Fragile X Online Registry and Accessible Research Database (FORWARD). There was a 1.7-fold reduction in the prevalence of autism in FXS participants who were fed breast milk for 12 months or longer. There were strong negative correlations between increased time the infant was fed breast milk and the prevalence of autism and seizures and moderate negative correlations with the prevalence of GI problems and allergies. However, participants reporting GI problems or allergies commenced these comorbidities significantly earlier than those not fed breast milk. Parsing the data by sex indicated that males exclusively fed breast milk exhibited decreased prevalence of GI problems and allergies. These data suggest that long-term or exclusive use of breast milk is associated with reduced prevalence of key comorbidities in FXS, although breast milk is associated with the earlier development of GI problems and allergies. Full article

Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening systemic hypersensitivity reaction that is still rarely diagnosed. For safety reasons, patients should visit an allergologist to identify potential causes and cofactors of this reaction. This paper presents the analysis of data from the Anaphylaxis Registry gathered over ten years at the Allergy Clinic, Pomeranian Medical University (PMU). A questionnaire-based survey was used for patients visiting the Allergy Clinic to identify potential augmentation factors/comorbidities and/or cofactors of anaphylaxis in patients with a history of moderate to severe anaphylaxis. The registry comprised patients with grade II or higher anaphylaxis. The gathered data concerned chronic comorbidities (cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, and others), recurrence of anaphylaxis, and potential cofactors in anaphylaxis. In the analyzed group, the incidence rate of anaphylaxis was the highest for women aged 19–60 years. Most common comorbidities in patients with moderate to severe anaphylaxis included: cardiovascular diseases, respiratory tract diseases, features of atopy, and thyroid diseases. More than 30% of drug-induced reactions were anaphylactic reactions due to the re-exposure to the same drug, which points to the need for educational initiatives in this area. The incidence rate of anaphylaxis induced by Hymenoptera stings was comparable in patients who had a previous generalized reaction and those who had good tolerance to the previous sting. It is important to take these cofactors into consideration when evaluating patients with anaphylaxis as they may play a role in future anaphylactic reactions. Full article

A large number of adults and children consume soy in various forms, but little information is available regarding potential neurological side effects. Prior work indicates an association between the consumption of soy-based diets and seizure prevalence in mouse models of neurological disease and in children with autism. Herein, we sought to evaluate potential associations between the consumption of soy-based formula during infancy and disease comorbidities in persons with fragile X syndrome (FXS), while controlling for potentially confounding issues, through a retrospective case-control survey study of participants with FXS enrolled in the Fragile X Online Registry with Accessible Research Database (FORWARD). There was a 25% usage rate of soy-based infant formula in the study population. We found significant associations between the consumption of soy-based infant formula and the comorbidity of autism, gastrointestinal problems (GI) and allergies. Specifically, there was a 1.5-fold higher prevalence of autism, 1.9-fold GI problems and 1.7-fold allergies in participants reporting the use of soy-based infant formula. The major reason for starting soy-based infant formula was GI problems. The average age of seizure and allergy onset occurred long after the use of soy-based infant formula. We conclude that early-life feeding with soy-based infant formula is associated with the development of several disease comorbidities in FXS. Full article

Anaphylaxis is most commonly defined as an acute, severe, potentially life-threatening systemic hypersensitivity reaction. Current expert consensus has defined anaphylaxis as a serious reaction that is rapid in onset and can be fatal, and is a severe, potentially life-threatening systemic hypersensitivity reaction that is still rarely diagnosed. For safety reasons, patients should visit an allergologist to identify potential causes of this reaction. There are no data from other health care centres in Poland presenting characteristics of anaphylactic reactions. Clinical manifestations of anaphylaxis should be analysed, because some patients (10–30%) with anaphylaxis can present without cutaneous findings. This lack of skin/mucosa involvement can lead to misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of anaphylaxis. Objectives—to gather epidemiological data on anaphylactic reactions, to identify clinical manifestations of anaphylaxis (organ systems involved), to present diagnostic methods useful for the identification of anaphylaxis triggers, and most importantly, to find causes of anaphylaxis. In this retrospective analysis, we used a questionnaire-based survey regarding patients visiting the Clinical Allergology Department, Pomeranian Medical University (PMU) in Szczecin, between 2006 and 2015. The registry comprised patients with grade II (Ring and Messmer classification) or higher anaphylaxis. Patients with grade I anaphylaxis (e.g., urticaria) were not included in the registry. The incidence of anaphylaxis was higher in women. Clinical manifestations included cutaneous and cardiovascular symptoms, but more than 20% of patients did not present with cutaneous symptoms, which may create difficulties for fast and correct diagnosis. Causes of anaphylaxis were identified and confirmed by means of detailed medical interview, skin tests (STs), and measurement of specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) and tryptase levels. In the analysed group, the most common cause of anaphylaxis (allergic and nonallergic) was Hymenoptera stinging (wasp), drugs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, NSAIDs) and foods (peanuts, tree nuts, celery). The incidence of anaphylaxis is low, but because of its nature and potentially life-threatening consequences it requires a detailed approach. Comprehensive management of patients who have had anaphylaxis can be complex, so partnerships between allergy specialists, emergency medicine and primary care providers are necessary. Monitoring its range is very important to monitor changes in allergy development. Full article