4 research outputs found
Food Sensitization Impact on Asthma Attacks in Children According to Age Group
Get PDFIntroduction: The progression of allergy disorders is termed “atopic march.” Having one allergic disorder increases the likelihood of acquiring others. Asthma and food allergies often coexist. There are no thresholds for specific IgE (sIgE) associated with the presence of clinical symptoms. Each allergen shows a particular trend with age. Objective: Our study and analysis aim to identify food sensitization in children with asthma and evaluate its impact on asthma attacks and clinical control. Material and methods: As a part of a bigger study, 56 children (mean age 11.07 years (5.3–17.5), 38 boys, and 18 girls) with bronchial asthma were tested for total IgE and sIgE against food and inhalator allergens. All children performed baseline and post-BD spirometry and were assessed for asthma control. Results: In the studied population of children, sIgE against several food allergens was positive in the same patient. A significant correlation was found between the positive sIgE for milk and soy (p p = 0.01), compared to milk and peanuts (p = 0.004), compared to egg yolk and fish (p p p p < 0.05). In the studied population, sensitization to food allergens among asthmatics does not contribute to the number of asthma attacks. Conclusions: Food sensitivity is associated with eczema, while mite sensitization is strongly associated with rhinitis and asthma. Food sensitization is not a risk factor for asthma exacerbation in children older than five years old
Atopic Status in Children with Asthma and Respiratory Allergies—Comparative Analysis of Total IgE, ImmunoCAP Phadiatop/fx5 and Euroimmun Pediatric Immunoblot
No full textIntroduction: An atopic status assessment (skin prick test or specific immunoglobulin (sIgE)) in asthmatic children is considered a milestone in identifying potential risk factors and triggers provoking loss of asthma control and asthma exacerbation. Objective: The study aims to perform a comparative analysis of different laboratory methods for a serological assessment of an atopic status in asthma and respiratory allergies in children. Material and methods: A total of 86 children were included, all of whom were diagnosed with bronchial asthma, aged from 5 to 17 years and screened for total IgE level using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In 48 randomly selected children, we performed a semi-quantitative serological in vitro assessment of the specific IgE antibodies against food and aeroallergen, using two different laboratory methods—Euroimmun Immunoblot and ImmunoCAP (Phadiatop/fx5). Results: In 70% of the children with a history of allergies, and 65.3% without clinically manifested allergies, multiscreen test ImmunoCAP Phadiatop/fx5 showed positivity and confirmed atopy. Our results showed a significant moderate to strong correlation between multiscreen ImmunoCAP Phadiatop/fx5, and Euroimmun specific IgE titers against aero-allergens—cats, mites, tree mix and food allergens—soy, wheat (р = 0.006), rice, р = 0.090), apple р = 0.007) and peanut. A sensitivity of 63% and specificity of 73.5% was observed for EUROIMMUN Pediatric (food allergens, IgE titer > 1) compared with the gold standard ImmunoCap/fx5. The mean value of total IgE is significantly higher in children with asthma and concomitant with allergic rhinitis compared to those without allergic rhinitis (mean 202.52 U/mL, IQR 102.50 (24.20–363.95) vs. 316.68, IQR 261.00 (109.20–552.50), p = 0.005). Conclusion: Establishing the spectrum of the most common respiratory and food allergens is an essential factor for maintaining asthma control, both through a strategy to avoid allergen exposure and by developing a recommendation plan. The immunoblotting technique is easily applicable in daily clinical and laboratory practice. It is also a cost-effective and reliable alternative to the “gold standard” ImmunoCAP Phadiatop/fx5 in diagnosing atopy in children
Clinical and Laboratory Manifestation of Gastrointestinal Involvement in MIS-C: A Single-Center Observational Study
No full textBackground: Digestive symptoms and gastrointestinal issues in children with coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) and Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) are commonly reported in pediatric studies from different countries. Our retrospective observational study aimed to summarize the main digestive symptoms and objective data on gastrointestinal involvement in children with MIS-C. Methods: We present the clinical, laboratory, and imaging data of 51 children with MIS-C hospitalized in a single center from 25 November 2020 to 24 April 2021, focusing on gastrointestinal involvement. Results: A total of 46/51 children (90.2%) reported at least one abdominal symptom (abdominal pain (86%, N = 44), vomiting, nausea, diarrhea), predominantly at presentation. Most children were older than 5 years (N = 40, 78%), predominated by the male sex (N = 37, 72.5%), and with a mean age of 8.82 ± 4.16 years. We found a tendency for lymphopenia, neutrophilia, and higher levels of CRP, d-dimer, and ferritin in MIS-C patients with abdominal pain (R-squared 0.188, F-statistic vs. constant model: 11.9, p-value = 0.00122, 20% explanation of variation with p = 0.001). We found a statistically significant linear relationship (regression) between neutrophile percentage (NEU%) and hospital stay and a tendency for elevated transaminases to be more frequent in older children (27.3% under 5 years and 65% over 5 years; p = 0.0583). We found no significant associations between digestive symptoms and age or the predominant SARS-CoV-2 variant. Conclusions: Most of our MIS-C patients presented with abdominal pain, usually along with other GI symptoms, which could be applied in clinical practice to MIS-C in children visiting the emergency room with abdominal pain and evidence of recent COVID-19 contact or infection. Further information from larger cohorts of MIS-C patients is needed to better understand the epidemiology of gastrointestinal involvement in these patients
