Perspectives and gaps in the management of food allergy and anaphylaxis in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Background: Food allergy (FA), which is a condition that has no effective cure and can result in severe life-threatening allergic reactions, remains a global public health concern; however, little is known about how FAs are currently managed in the Asia-Pacific region. Objective: The main objective of this survey was to evaluate the epidemiology of FA, as well as the availability of resources and practices for management of FA and anaphylaxis by health care providers across Asia. Methods: From June 2022 to September 2022, a questionnaire-based survey comprising 66 questions was electronically sent to member societies of the Asia Pacific Association of Allergy Asthma and Clinical Immunology by using Survey Monkey. Results: A total of 20 responses were received from 15 member countries and territories. Compared with the pediatric data, there was a lack of prevalence data for FA in adults. Except for Australia and Japan, most regions had between 0.1 and 0.5 allergists per 100,000 population and some had fewer than 0.1 allergists per 100,000 population. The perceived rate of FA in regions with a short supply of allergists was high. Although specific IgE tests and oral food challenges were available in all regions, the median wait time for oral food challenges at government facilities was 37 days (interquartile range = 10.5-60 days). Seven regions still relied on prescriptions of ampules and syringes of injectable adrenaline, and adrenaline autoinjectors were not accessible in 4 regions. Oral immunotherapy as FA treatment was available in half of the surveyed countries and territories. Conclusions: Our study offers a cross-sectional evaluation of the management practices for FA in each Asia Pacific Association of Allergy Asthma and Clinical Immunology member country or territory. Urgent actions are required to enhance allergy services, improve the accessibility and affordability of adrenaline autoinjectors, and conduct robust epidemiologic studies.

L-asparaginase: long-term results of a randomized trial of the effect of additional 3 doses during consolidation treatment in the Indonesian WK-ALL-2000 protocol.

We conducted a randomized trial to compare the influence of 3 additional doses of L-asparaginase on clinical outcome of newly diagnosed childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Patients were treated using Indonesian WK-ALL-2000 protocol between 1999 and 2005 and randomized to receive (3A arm, n=61) or not to receive (0A arm, n=56) an additional 3 weekly doses of 6000 IU/m(2)/dose of Escherichia coli L-asparaginase during consolidation treatment on top of 2 doses (standard-risk patients) or 5 doses (high-risk patients). Events after remission included relapse (37.6%), death (16.2%), and abandonment of therapy (15.4%). There was no significant difference in relapses between the 2 arms. Patients in arm 3A versus 0A tended to have a lower 5 years disease-free survival (47.4±7.9% vs. 51.7±7.9%, P=0.72) and lower 5 years event-free survival (29.5±5.8% vs. 35.7±6.4%, P=0.61). We conclude that in our setting the use of 3 additional doses of L-asparaginase during consolidation therapy did not result in survival advantage. Contrariwise, adverse effects from this drug included higher treatment cost and systemic toxicity.

Randomized double blind trial of ciprofloxacin prophylaxis during induction treatment in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the WK-ALL protocol in Indonesia.

OBJECTIVES: Toxic death is a big problem in the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), especially in low-income countries. Studies of ciprofloxacin as single agent prophylaxis vary widely in success rate. We conducted a double-blind, randomized study to test the effects of ciprofloxacin monotherapy as prophylaxis for sepsis and death in induction treatment of the Indonesian childhood ALL protocol. METHODS: Patients were randomized to the ciprofloxacin arm (n = 58) and to the placebo arm (n = 52). Oral ciprofloxacin monotherapy or oral placebo was administered twice a day. All events during induction were recorded: toxic death, abandonment, resistant disease, and complete remission rate. RESULTS: Of 110 patients enrolled in this study, 79 (71.8%) achieved CR. In comparison to the placebo arm, the ciprofloxacin arm had lower nadir of absolute neutrophil count during induction with median of 62 (range: 5-884) versus 270 (range: 14-25,480) × 10(9) cells/L (P < 0.01), greater risks for experiencing fever (50.0% versus 32.7%, P = 0.07), clinical sepsis (50.0% versus 38.5%, P = 0.22), and death (18.9% versus 5.8%, P = 0.05). CONCLUSION: In our setting, a reduced intensity protocol in a low-income situation, the data warn against using ciprofloxacin prophylaxis during induction treatment. A lower nadir of neutrophil count and higher mortality were found in the ciprofloxacin group.