Real-Life Adherence to Venom Immunotherapy and Adrenaline Autoinjector.

INTRODUCTION: Venom immunotherapy (VIT) and adrenaline autoinjector (AAI) are important therapies in venom anaphylaxis. Adherence to VIT and AAI in patients with venom allergy has been evaluated in a few studies; however, solid data are lacking. This study aimed to evaluate VIT and AAI retrieval rates in patients with venom allergy with a special focus on adherence to treatment. Adherence was compared to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) with inhalant allergens. METHODS: This was a retrospective study among patients registered for allergen immunotherapy at the Allergy Center, Odense University Hospital, Denmark, from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2014. Data on purchased immunotherapy and AAI were obtained from the Danish National Health Service Prescription Database. Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze if allergen, age, sex, mastocytosis, and treatment site affected adherence. RESULTS: The 3-year adherence to VIT was 92.4% (244/264) compared to 87.4% (215/246) in SCIT with inhalant allergens, and the 5-year adherence to VIT was 84.1% (222/264) compared to 74.8% (184/246) in SCIT with inhalant allergens (p = 0.045). Females treated with VIT were more adherent than males (p = 0.45 [3-year], p = 0.008 [5-year]), whereas allergen, age, mastocytosis, or treatment site did not significantly affect adherence. Only 28.6% of patients (12/42) purchased an AAI after premature termination of VIT. CONCLUSION: In this register-based study, we found that the 3- and 5-year adherences to VIT and SCIT with inhalant allergens are at the upper end of the spectrum hitherto reported. Patients' 5-year adherence to VIT was higher than patients' 5-year adherence to SCIT with inhalant allergens. If VIT was prematurely terminated, less than 1/3 would have purchased an AAI.

Early Pre- and Postoperative Enteral Nutrition and Growth in Infants with Symptomatic Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

OBJECTIVES: Nutritional support during the neonatal and postoperative period in congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is challenging and controversial. We aimed to report on early enteral nutritional support in symptomatic CDH patients during the pre- and postoperative period, including feasibility, associated factors with established full enteral nutrition, and weight at birth, discharge, and 18 months. METHODS: We retrospectively collected data on nutrition: type and volume of enteral nutrition and parental support. Enteral feeding was introduced preoperatively from day 1 after birth, increased step-wised (breastmilk preferred), and resumed after CDH repair on the first postoperative day. Baseline data were available from our CDH database. RESULTS: From 2011 to 2020, we identified 45 CDH infants. Twenty-two were girls (51.1%), 35 left sided (77.8%), and 40 underwent CDH repair (88.9%). Median (interquartile range) length of stay in the pediatric intensive care unit was 14.6 days (6.0-26.5), and 1-year mortality was 17.8%.Postoperatively, 120 and 160 mL/kg/d of enteral nutrition was achieved after a median of 6.5 (3.6-12.6) and 10.6 (7.6-21.7) days, respectively. In total, 31 (68.9%) needed supplemental parenteral nutrition in a median period of 8 days (5-18), and of those 11 had parenteral nutrition initiated before CDH repair. No complications to enteral feeding were reported. CONCLUSION: Early enteral nutrition in CDH infants is feasible and may have the potential to reduce the need for parental nutrition and reduce time to full enteral nutrition in the postoperative period.

Adherence to adrenaline autoinjector prescriptions in patients with anaphylaxis.

This study evaluates adherence to adrenaline autoinjector prescriptions in a cohort of well-characterized anaphylaxis patients. The overall retrieval rate was 76% with the highest rate in patients with severe anaphylaxis. Special attention is needed in patients with unknown elicitors and in young adults, comprising the largest proportion of non-adherent patients. Trial registration No intervention performed. Retrospective data used with permission from the Danish Data Protection Agency and Regional Committees on Health Research Ethics.

Early childhood risk factors for rhinoconjunctivitis in adolescence: a prospective birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Rhinoconjunctivitis is a global health problem and one of the most common chronic conditions in children. Development of rhinoconjunctivitis depends on both genetic and environmental factors. Many studies have investigated rhinoconjunctivitis, but only few studies have evaluated the risk factors for non-allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in children finding family history of atopic diseases and gender to be of importance. The aim of this study was to investigate possible risk factors in early life for rhinoconjunctivitis, allergic as well as non-allergic, in adolescence. METHODS: The children in the Danish Allergy Research Center cohort were examined eight times from birth to 14 years of age. Visits included questionnaire-based interview, clinical examination, skin prick test and specific IgE. We used univariate and multivariate logistic regression to investigate the relationship between early-life risk factors and the development of rhinoconjunctivitis, allergic as well as non-allergic, in adolescence. RESULTS: Follow-up rate at 14-years was 66.2%. The prevalence of rhinoconjunctivitis was 32.8%. Family history of atopic diseases (aOR 2.25), atopic dermatitis (aOR 3.24), food allergy (aOR 3.89), early sensitization to inhalant and food allergens (aOR 2.92 and aOR 3.13) and male gender (aOR 1.90) were associated with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis but not with non-allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Early environmental tobacco exposure was inversely associated with rhinoconjunctivitis (aOR 0.42), allergic (aOR 0.47) as well as non-allergic (aOR 0.43). CONCLUSION: Different patterns of associations were revealed when stratifying rhinoconjunctivitis in allergic and non-allergic suggesting that allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and non-allergic-rhinoconjunctivitis are different phenotypes.

Low patch test reactivity to nickel in unselected adolescents tested repeatedly with nickel in infancy.

BACKGROUND: It is questionable how repeated patch tests with nickel sulfate in infancy affect nickel patch test reactivity at a later age. METHODS: The Danish Allergy Research Center (DARC) cohort encompasses 562 infants invited to a clinical examination including patch tests with nickel sulfate six times during the first 36 months of life. At the follow-up investigation at 14 years of age (2013-2014), participants were offered re-patch tests with nickel sulfate. The Odense Adolescence Cohort Study TOACS cohort encompasses 1501 schoolchildren evaluated for the first time at 14 years of age (1995-1996) including clinical examination and nickel sulfate patch tests. The prevalence of nickel sensitization in the DARC cohort was compared to the prevalence in the TOACS cohort at 14 years of age. RESULTS: Nickel sulfate sensitization was found in 1.2% of the participants from the DARC cohort tested repeatedly with nickel sulfate in early childhood and retested at 14 years of age compared to 8.6% of the participants from the TOACS cohort patch-tested for the first time at 14 years of age using the same patch test system and test concentration. CONCLUSION: The significant difference in nickel patch test reactivity comparing the two cohorts may reflect an immunologic effect or the effect of nickel regulation.

Prevention of allergic disease in childhood: clinical and epidemiological aspects of primary and secondary allergy prevention.

The development and phenotypic expression of atopic diseases depends on a complex interaction between genetic factors, environmental exposure to allergens,and non-specific adjuvant factors, such as tobacco smoke, air pollution and infections. Preventive measures may include both exposure to allergens and adjuvant risk/protective factors and pharmacological treatment. These measures may address the general population, children at risk for development of atopic disease (high-risk infants), children with early symptoms of allergic disease or children with chronic disease. The objective for this review was to evaluate possible preventive measures as regards prevention of development of allergic disease in childhood--primary prevention--and also some aspects of the effect of specific allergy treatment as regards secondary prevention in children with allergic asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. In one prospective observational study of a birth cohort of unselected infants we evaluated possible predictive/risk factors. In two prospective intervention studies including 1 yr birth cohorts of high-risk(HR) infants we investigated the effect of feeding HR infants exclusively breast milk (BM) and/or hydrolyzed cow's milk-based formula the first 4-6 months as regards: (i) the allergy preventive effect of BM/extensively hydrolysed formula (eHF) compared with ordinary cow's milk-based formula, (ii) the effect of two different eHFs, a whey (Profylac) and a casein-based (Nutramigen) formula, as regards development of cow's milk protein allergy (CMA), and (iii) a comparison of the preventive effect of eHF (Profylac/Nutramigen) with a partially hydrolyzed cow's milk-based formula (pHF) (NanHA) as regards development of CMA. None of the mothers had a restricted diet during pregnancy or lactation period. In two prospective randomized intervention studies we evaluated the preventive effect of specific allergen avoidance and specific immunotherapy (SIT) in children with allergic asthma and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, respectively. The combination of atopic heredity and elevated cord blood IgE resulted in the best predictive discrimination as regards development of allergic disease. The optimal high-risk group was defined by either double parental atopic predisposition or single atopic predisposition, the latter combined with a cord blood IgE > or = 0.3 kU/1. 66% of unselected infants were daily exposed to tobacco smoke, which was a significant risk factor for recurrent wheezing until the age of 1.5 yr. HR infants were breastfed for a longer period and less exposed to tobacco smoke than unselected infants. Exclusively BM/eHF for at least 4 months was associated with a significantly reduced cumulative prevalence of CMA [3.6% (5/141) vs. 20%(15/75) in the control group] up to 5 yr. The effect of the two different eHFs was similar. Exclusively breastfed infants were significantly less exposed to tobacco smoke and pets, had solid foods introduced later and belonged to higher social classes. pHF was significantly (p = 0.05) less effective than eHF as regards prevention of development of CMA. A diet period of 4 months seems to be as efficient as 6 months or more as regards development of CMA. A few ongoing prospective, randomized intervention studies have produced the first indication that avoidance of indoor allergens such as house dust mite (HDM) in HR infants may reduce the incidence of severe wheeze and sensitization during the first 1-4 yr of age. Long-term follow-up is awaited. In a prospective, double-blind placebo-controlled study in children with doctors diagnosed asthma and documented HDM allergy, we found that semipermeable polyurethane mattress and pillow encasings (Allergy Control) when compared with placebo encasings resulted in a significant perennial reduction of HDM exposure and a significant reduction in the needed dose of inhaled steroids by approximately 50% (mean dose: 408 microg--227 microg/day) after 1-yr follow-up. In another randomized prospective study we investigated the possible preventive effect of SIT in children with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and grass/birch pollen allergy as regards development of asthma. Among those without asthma significantly fewer in the SIT group developed asthma when compared with the control group (19/79 = 24% vs.32/72 = 44%) after the first 3 yr; and methacholinebronchial provocation test results improved significant in the SIT group. The results of our studies support the evidence that the risk for development of early allergic manifestations e.g. CMA and atopic dermatitis can be reduced significantly by simple dietary measures for the first4 months of life. In all infants breastfeeding should beencouraged for at least 4-6 months, and exposure to tobacco smoke should be avoided during pregnancy and early childhood. In HR infants a documented hypoallergenic formula (at present eHF) is recommended if exclusive breastfeeding is not possible for the first 4 months. In homes of HR-infants, current evidence supports measures to reduce the levels of indoor allergens. e.g. HDM and pets. In symptomatic children allergen-specific treatment may influence both the symptoms and the prognosis. Allergen avoidance can reduce the need for pharmacological treatment, SIT may have the potential for preventing the development of asthma in children with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. and it may be possible to interfere with the natural course of allergic diseases.

Early sensitisation and development of allergic airway disease - risk factors and predictors.

The development and phenotypic expression of allergic airway disease depends on a complex interaction between genetic and several environmental factors, such as exposure to food, inhalant allergens and non-specific adjuvant factors (e.g. tobacco smoke, air pollution and infections). The first months of life seem to be a particularly vulnerable period and there is evidence that sensitisation is related to the level of allergen exposure during early life. At present, the combination of atopic heredity and elevated cord-blood IgE seems to result in the best predictive discrimination as regards development of allergic disease at birth. Early sensitisation, cow's milk allergy and atopic eczema are predictors for later development of allergic airway disease. Exposure to indoor allergens, especially house dust mite allergens, is a risk factor for sensitisation and development of asthma later in childhood in high-risk infants and infants with early atopic manifestations.