Influence of household pet ownership and filaggrin loss-of-function mutations on eczema prevalence in children: A birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The association between pet exposure in infancy, early childhood eczema, and FLG mutations remains unclear. METHODS: This was a birth cohort study performed in Tokyo, Japan. The primary outcome was current eczema based on questionnaire responses collected repeatedly from birth to 5 years of age. Generalized estimating equations and generalized linear modeling were used to evaluate the association. RESULTS: Data from 1448 participants were used for analyses. Household dog ownership during gestation, early infancy, and 18 months of age significantly reduced the risk of current eczema. Household cat ownership also reduced the risk of current eczema, albeit without statistical significance. The combined evaluation of children from households with pets, be it cats, dogs or both, the risk of current eczema at 1-5 years of age was lower in those with household pet exposure ownership during gestation (RR = 0.59, 95 % CI 0.45-0.77) and at 6 months (RR = 0.49, 95 % CI 0.36-0.68). , Reduced risks of eczema were also observed at 2-5 (RR = 0.52, 95 % CI 0.37-0.73) and 3-5 years of age (RR = 0.50 95 % CI 0.35-0.74) when the respective household pet ownership were evaluated at 18 months and 3 years of age. These protective associations of reduced risk of eczema were only observed in children without FLG mutations. CONCLUSIONS: Household dog and pet (dog, cat, or both) ownership was protective against early childhood eczema in a birth cohort dataset. This protective association was observed only in children without FLG mutations, which should be confirmed in studies with larger cohorts.

[ANTIMICROBIAL ALLERGY ASSESSMENT DURING PREGNANCY FOR APPROPRIATE ANTIMICROBIAL USE AT DELIVERY].

BACKGROUND: Avoidance of suspect drugs based solely on a history of drug allergy is detrimental to disease outcomes. Many antimicrobial allergy labels are not usually true allergy. Some studies have demonstrated that antimicrobial allergy assessments can be safely performed on pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to examine the usefulness of antibiotic allergy assessment during pregnancy in Japan. METHODS: We reviewed pregnant women who reported antimicrobial allergies and were referred to the allergy center. Allergists conducted an interview and skin test and selected antibiotics that could be used at delivery. RESULTS: Twenty-four pregnant women were referred to as having antimicrobial allergies. Most of the suspected antimicrobials were cephalosporin (13 cases, 52%) and penicillin (9 cases, 36%). Five women were ruled out only by our interviews. Of the remaining 20 cases, 10 were immediate type, 6 were non-immediate type, and 4 were unknown. All 21 pregnant women who needed antimicrobials were able to use the first-line drugs (ß-lactam antimicrobials) at the time of delivery. No surgical site infections or allergic reactions were observed. CONCLUSION: Pregnant women with antimicrobial allergy labels could be evaluated by antimicrobial allergy assessment during pregnancy, and first-line antimicrobials were safely and properly used at delivery.

[A CASE OF INDUCIBLE LARYNGEAL OBSTRUCTION UNSUCCESSFULLY TREATED AS SEVERE ASTHMA WAS WELL CONTROLLED AFTER APPROPRIATE DIAGNOSIS AND INSTRUCTION OF THERAPEUTIC BREATHING MANEUVERS].

BACKGROUND: Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO) refers to respiratory disorders caused by airflow limitation in the larynx, including vocal cord dysfunction, and may sometimes be misdiagnosed as bronchial asthma (BA). Here, we report the case of an 11-year-old boy diagnosed with BA in infancy. He was referred to our Allergy Center and was taking a high dose of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) due to frequent coughing from the age of 10 years and persistent coughing following COVID-19 infection at the age of 11. However, the patient continued to experience frequent coughing attacks and repeated visits to the emergency department after inhalation of ß2-stimulants failed to improve his cough. We admitted him to the allergy center for examinations to assess the BA severity. In the airway hypersensitiveness test, saline inhalation performed prior to methacholine inhalation caused expiratory stridor and respiratory distress in the larynx, which worsened with ß2-stimulant inhalation. Based on these results, we ruled out BA and diagnosed ILO. We instructed him on breathing maneuvers, and he was able to respond appropriately when symptoms appeared. We then started reducing his ICS dose.

Predictive potential of age-group cut-off values of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in Kawasaki disease.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between serum N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and the clinical features of patients with Kawasaki disease (KD) has been the subject of research. Recent studies have revealed that serum NT-proBNP levels vary with age. We therefore aimed to determine the utility of age-stratified cut-off values for NT-proBNP in predicting coronary artery lesions (CALs) in patients with KD. METHODS: We retrospectively assessed the electronic medical records of patients who were hospitalized for KD or incomplete KD between January 1, 2015, and August 31, 2019. The patients were divided into high and normal NT-proBNP groups using age-stratified cut-off based on serum NT-proBNP levels measured immediately before KD treatment initiation. RESULTS: The study comprised 242 cases, including 71 and 171 cases in high and normal NT-proBNP groups, respectively. Thirty-seven of them (15.3%) were resistant to treatment; 15 (6.2%) had CALs, with a higher incidence in the high NT-proBNP group than in the normal NT-proBNP group. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, high serum NT-proBNP levels were significantly correlated to CALs (OR, 9.76; 95% CI, 2.64-36.2). On logistic regression analysis to compare the predictive accuracy of the age-stratified and fixed cut-off for CALs, the age-stratified cut-off values showed a larger area under the receiver operating characteristic curve than fixed cut-off value. CONCLUSIONS: Based on age-stratified cut-off values for serum NT-proBNP, high NT-proBNP levels at the time of diagnosis were significantly associated with CALs in patients with KD. Higher predictive accuracy for CALs of the age-stratified cut-off values was also suggested.

Predictive modeling for cow's milk allergy remission by low-dose oral immunotherapy in young children.

Background: The effectiveness of slow low-dose oral immunotherapy (SLOIT) for cow's milk (CM) allergy has been reported. Most OIT studies have discussed the target populations over 4 years old. Furthermore, no predicting modeling is reported for CM allergy remission by CM-SLOIT under 4 years of age. Objective: We sought to develop a predictive model for CM allergy remission by SLOIT after 3 years in young children who started CM-SLOIT under 4 years of age. Methods: We included young children with cow's milk allergy or cow's milk sensitization (development modeling set with 120 children and validation modeling set with 71 children). We did logistic regression analysis to develop the models. We calculated the area under the receiver operating curves (ROC-AUCs) to evaluate the predictive modeling performance. Results: The model (CM-sIgE before SLOIT + age at beginning SLOIT + serum TARC before starting SLOIT + CM-sIgE titer one year after OIT) showed good discrimination with the ROC-AUC of 0.83 (95% CI:0.76-0.91) on internal validation. Applying the model to the validation set gave good discrimination (ROC-AUC = 0.89, 95% CI:0.80-0.97) and a reasonable calibration (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.88, 95% CI:0.62-0.97). Conclusion: We developed and validated predictive modeling for determining the remission rate of CM allergy at 3 years after SLOIT under 4 years of age in children with CM allergy. This predictive model is highly accurate and can support CM allergy management. (226 words).

Pollen Food Allergy Syndrome in Allergic March.

The association between pollen food allergy syndrome (PFAS) and allergic march remains unclear. In this prospective cohort study of the general population in Tokyo (T-Child Study), we found that sensitization to Cry j 1 and Fel d 1 at ages 5 and 9 years was associated with an increased risk of PFAS at 13 years old (at 5 years, Cry j 1: adjusted odds ratio aOR, 2.74; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.53-4.91; Fel d 1: aOR, 2.61; 95% CI, 1.31-5.19; at 9 years, Cry j 1: adjusted odds ratio aOR, 4.28; 95% confidence interval CI, 1.98-9.25; Fel d 1: aOR, 2.40; 95% CI, 1.33-4.32). In particular, sensitization to Bet v 1 at ages 5 and 9 years was associated with a strong risk of PFAS at the age of 13 years (at 5 years: aOR, 10.6; 95% CI, 2.64-42.5; at 9 years: aOR, 9.1; 95% CI, 4.71-17.6). PFAS risk by age 13 years was increased by any allergic symptom at 5 or 9 years, a combination of wheezing, eczema, and rhinitis, and Bet v 1 sensitization. Our findings suggest that PFAS may be associated with allergic march.