Allergies & Asthma

Earlier introduction of common allergenic foods in the first year of life was linked to a lower risk of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergy from 1 to 5 years of age, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis of 23 randomized trials. Moderate-certainty evidence from four trials (n=3,295) showed that the introduction of multiple allergenic

Marginalized groups appeared to benefit more from decreasing levels of PM2.5 (fine particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter), according to a study using over 600 million person-years of Medicare data. While the hazard ratio associated with decreasing PM2.5 from 12 μg/m3 to 8 μg/m3 was 0.963 (95% CI 0.955-0.970) for higher-income white populations,

Use of digital measurement tools to track individual adherence to treatment helped avoid raising doses or adding medications and improved adherence in patients with uncontrolled asthma, the INCA Sun trial found. After 32 weeks, 14% of patients in the treatment group and 32% of the control group saw an increase in their asthma medication burden

Long-term exposure to heat and cold from the second trimester to 4 weeks after birth was associated with lung function among female newborns, according to a French population-based cohort study. Specifically, long-term heat and cold exposure were associated with decreased functional residual capacity (FRC) and increased respiratory rate, while only long-term cold exposure was linked

Routine bronchoscopy may clarify the treatment pathways for patients suffering from severe uncontrolled asthma (SUA) who are being considered for biologic therapy indicated for a T2 inflammation phenotype, according to a prospective study. After receiving a bronchoscopy, a substantial number of people were found to have comorbidities aggravating asthma control: 21% had gastroesophageal reflux disease

Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution was associated with an increased risk of long COVID among young adults, according to a Swedish population-based cohort study. For each increase in interquartile range (IQR) in exposure to particulate matter ≤2.5 μm (PM2.5) in 2019 (median annual exposure 6.39 μg/m3), the odds of developing long COVID increased by

A lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) in early childhood nearly doubles the risk of premature death from respiratory diseases in adulthood, according to a prospective cohort study that spanned eight decades. The study of over 3,500 individuals born in the U.K. found that participants diagnosed with an LRTI by age 2 years were 93% more

Use of leukotriene-receptor antagonists (LTRAs) during pregnancy was not associated with significant risks of neuropsychiatric events in offspring, according to a nationwide cohort study from Taiwan. Among the children of women with a diagnosis of asthma or allergic rhinitis during pregnancy, no significant associations were found between prenatal LTRA exposure and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD;

SAN ANTONIO — Peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) at maintenance doses 10 times lower than conventional dosing may be an effective strategy for desensitizing peanut-allergic patients, according to findings from an ongoing study. Researchers from academic centers in Toronto and Montreal are randomizing peanut-allergic children to peanut avoidance, very low-dose OIT at a dosage of 30

SAN ANTONIO — Treatment with the interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonist mepolizumab (Nucala) increased freedom from oral corticosteroids after 2 years in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma, according to a post-hoc analysis of the real-world prospective REALITI-A trial. The proportion of those achieving freedom from oral corticosteroids increased from 4% at week 0 to 22% at week

A one-food elimination diet (1FED) could be just as effective as the popular six-food elimination diet (6FED) for patients suffering from eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), a randomized trial showed. Removing animal milk alone led to histological remission at 6 weeks in 35% of people by eosinophil count, which was statistically no different than the 42% in

SAN ANTONIO — Many reported anaphylactic reactions to COVID-19 vaccination may in fact be attributable to vaccine-induced immunization stress-related response (ISRR), suggested findings from a small study presented here. Cases of ISRR — a non-allergic condition that mimics many of the symptoms of anaphylaxis — may help explain why rare anaphylactic reactions to mRNA COVID

SAN ANTONIO — Patients with asthma at one large academic medical center were not prescribed a biologic therapy very often over a 5-year period, a researcher reported, although patient adherence to a prescription was also problematic. Just 3.7% of patients received a new biologic prescription within a year of referral to a specialist, according to

SAN ANTONIO — Epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) administered through an investigational skin patch over 12 months led to more responses — with favorable safety — compared with placebo in peanut-allergic toddlers with and without other food allergies or atopic dermatitis (AD), according to two subanalyses of the phase III EPITOPE trial. Among children ages 1 to

SAN ANTONIO — Real-world data presented here supported the early introduction of peanuts to infants at high risk for developing peanut allergies, yet also highlighted caregiver challenges in following the guideline-recommended protocol. In a study of 309 high-risk infants considered for early peanut introduction, 12% were allergic at baseline, while 65% had no issues with

SAN ANTONIO — Among patients with hereditary angioedema (HAE), monthly injections of the investigational biologic garadacimab reduced the mean attack rate substantially in the phase III VANGUARD clinical trial. During the 6-month trial, the average monthly HAE attack rate dropped to 0.27 in the garadacimab group versus 2.01 for the placebo group (P<0.001), representing a

Intranasal corticosteroids (INCs) improved quality of life for children suffering from chronic rhinosinusitis, the RAISE randomized trial showed. Sinus and Nasal Quality of Life Survey (SN-5) scores improved significantly more for children assigned to daily intranasal mometasone spray (Nasonex) along with daily saline solution rinsing with a nasal nebulizer compared with the saline routine alone,

Peanut sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) achieved clinically significant desensitization to peanut allergens in the majority of children in an open-label, prospective study. Among 47 kids who completed therapy and the 48-month double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge, 70% achieved clinically significant desensitization (successfully consumed dose [SCD] >800 mg), and 36% achieved full desensitization (SCD 5,000 mg), reported Edwin

The prevalence of eczema among U.S. children has increased over the last 20 years to varying degrees among racial and ethnic groups, a nationwide study found. In 1997, eczema prevalence was at 7.9% and increased to 12.6% by 2018, reported Siri Choragudi, BS, and Gil Yosipovitch, MD, both of the University of Miami Miller School

The five-question CAPTURE screening tool showed high specificity but low sensitivity in detecting undiagnosed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in primary care. Of 110 patients with undiagnosed but clinically significant COPD, 53 had a positive result on CAPTURE with a specificity of 88.6% (95% CI 87.6%-89.6%) and a sensitivity of 48.2% (95% CI 38.6%-57.9%), reported

Use of the population-based Hospital Frailty Risk Score (HFRS) may misclassify frailty in hospitalized patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation compared with use of the beside Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS), according to a cross-sectional study. Using the CFS as a criterion standard measurement, the HFRS had a sensitivity of 27% and a specificity

The monovalent Moderna COVID-19 booster vaccine may be associated with an elevated risk for new-onset chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU), or hives lasting more than 6 weeks, according to a Swiss study. Among people who got an mRNA COVID vaccine booster and had new-onset hives reported to local allergists, 90% had vaccination precede CSU in the

The management and control of asthma across age groups is often inadequate, especially in lower-income nations, according to a global cross-sectional study. Across the 25 nations included in the study, which included over 25,000 individuals with asthma confirmed by a doctor, plans used to assist in the management of asthma symptoms were used in 62.8%

More than a quarter of adults and children experienced some kind of allergic condition in 2021, according to two National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) reports. The rate of 27.2% among children 17 years and under represented an increase from previous decades, reported Benjamin Zablotsky, PhD, of the NCHS in Hyattsville, Maryland, and coauthors in

The FDA approved a pressured, metered-dose inhaler containing albuterol and budesonide (Airsupra) for treating adults with asthma, drugmaker AstraZeneca announced. The combination, formerly known as PT027, is specifically indicated for the as-needed treatment or prevention of bronchoconstriction and to reduce the risk of exacerbations in adults with asthma, and is the first product containing both

While there was no association between prenatal exposure to acid-suppressive medications and allergic diseases in kids, infant exposure was linked to a higher risk of developing asthma, a South Korean nationwide cohort study showed. Among over 84,000 pairs of infants exposed and unexposed to proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and histamine 2 receptor antagonists (H2RAs), the

TTHealthWatch is a weekly podcast from Texas Tech. In it, Elizabeth Tracey, director of electronic media for Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, and Rick Lange, MD, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, look at the top medical stories of the week. This week’s topics include sodium levels and health

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to tighten the national annual limit on particulate matter (PM) pollution, according to its proposed updates to the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Fine Particulate Matter. Part of the EPA’s plan is to lower the primary (health-based) annual PM2.5 standard down to 9.0-10.0 µg/m3, compared with the