A single-center experience of COVID-19 infection in patients with primary immunodeficiency.

Background: Reported outcomes in patients with primary immunodeficiency (PID) infected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been variable owing to a combination of viral strain heterogeneity, differences in patient populations and health systems, and local availability of vaccination and specific COVID-19 therapies. There are few reports on the experience of Australian patients with PID during the pandemic. Objectives: In this retrospective study, we describe the baseline characteristics and short-term outcomes of patients with PID who were infected by COVID-19 and known to the Royal Melbourne Hospital, a major tertiary center in Victoria, Australia. Methods: Between April 2021 and April 2022, a total of 31 of 138 patients with PID were affected by COVID-19. More than half of them had 3 vaccine doses at the time of infection (which at the time was considered being fully vaccinated) and received COVID-19-targeted treatment. Results: All of the infected patients had ambulatory disease, with no cases of morbidity or mortality. In line with the current literature, the PID subtypes described did not appear to independently predict worse outcomes. Conclusions: Some protective factors include this cohort's relatively younger average age and its high uptake of vaccination and COVID-19 therapies.

A paediatric case of exercise-augmented anaphylaxis following bee pollen ingestion in Western Australia.

Bee pollen is becoming an increasingly popular health supplement worldwide due to its many therapeutic applications. Thirteen cases of anaphylaxis to bee pollen consumption have been published to date, with plant pollen of the Compositae family being the most frequently implicated allergen. We present the first known paediatric case of bee pollen anaphylaxis in Australia involving a 15-year-old boy who had a strongly positive skin prick test to the bee pollen consumed where exercise was a possible co-factor. Our patient had a history of allergic rhinitis like most earlier cases. Our patient also had a strongly positive skin prick test to overseas-sourced bee pollen despite no relevant travel history, indicating the likelihood of a common pollen grain or cross-allergenicity of pollen grains found within both bee pollens. Our case reinforces the importance of a careful dietary history including health supplements when assessing for anaphylaxis.