Open AccessImmunotherapy protocol with extensively heated milk/egg: preliminary results
Author(s) -
Lazzarotto F,
Bonaguro R,
Toniolo A,
Muraro MA
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
clinical and translational allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.979
H-Index - 37
ISSN - 2045-7022
DOI - 10.1186/2045-7022-3-s3-p34
Subject(s) - medicine , dosing , oral food challenge , anaphylaxis , egg white , adverse effect , food allergy , oral immunotherapy , allergy , pediatrics , immunology , food science , chemistry
Methods Among patients (pts) who attended the Food Allergy Centre in Padua in the last 16 months, 44 cow’s milk (CM) and 60 egg (E) allergic pts were recruited. Median age was 9 yrs for CM and 8 yrs for E pts. All pts had reported severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), were on a restricted diet for CM or E, and had been prescribed self-injectable epinephrine. All pts underwent an oral food challenge (OFC) for milk/egg before entering the study, to define the threshold of tolerated protein dose. Median CM protein dose was 0,031 g (range 0,00042-1,65); median E protein dose was 0,49 g (range 0,015-3). Up-dosing was scheduled at a 4-6 week intervals and performed in the hospital, under medical supervision. After discharge, pts were requested to daily consume the new tolerated dose for at least one month before the next up-dosing step. Any adverse event or symptom appearing at home could be reported through a 24-hour on-call service. Specific IgE were screened at recruitment: mean value 7.7 kU/L for casein, 3.8kU/L for egg white and 2,3kU/L for ovomucoid. Another blood sample has been scheduled after 12 months to evaluate a change in specific IgE levels. Specific IgG4 to milk/egg proteins will also be screened in both samples.