Current developments in the treatment of peanut allergy

Peanut allergy is a potentially life-threatening disease because it leads to severe allergic reactions, especially in children but also in adults. So far, allergen avoidance is the most effective therapy for treating peanut allergy. In this article, current developments of peanut allergy specific immunotherapy are critically discussed based on the existing literature. These include sublingual, epicutaneous and oral peanut immunotherapy. Nonspecific treatment approaches with new-targeted antibodies such as anti-IgE (omalizumab) or anti-IL-4/IL-13 receptor antibodies (dupilumab) can also be used to treat peanut allergy with regard to the mode of action of these antibodies. Multiple studies are already available for omalizumab and are currently performed with dupilumab. Whether and which therapies for the treatment of peanut allergy will be available on the market in the future is not only relevant in terms of clinical effectiveness in the sense of a long-term stable increase in the threshold level, but also in terms of the tolerability in everyday life of affected patients

Improvement of Therapy Outcomes after Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in a Patient with Acne inversa.

Treatment of acne inversa (also known as hidradenitis suppurativa) is complicated and chronic. This debilitating, inflammatory disease of the follicular sacks affects mostly young adults and has a strong negative impact on their quality of life. We present a case of a 28 year old woman with a history of acneinversa of Hurley grade 2 for 6 years. Patient underwent surgical excision of the skin of the left inguinum followed by negative pressure therapy dressings for 2 and a half weeks (5 dressing changes). This allowed a full closure of the wound after 12 weeks and formation of a well accepted scar. Patient’s paindecreased from 4.5 to 1.5 according to visual assessment scale. We also noted a 28 point decrease in disease severity score according to Sartorius scale and a 19 point decrease in Dermatology Life Quality Index. Two years prior admission patient had undergone surgical treatment of her right inguinum with split thickness skin grafting, which healed for 26 weeks and yielded less satisfactory results. Comparison photographs of both treatment results are presented

Knowledge about Ultraviolet Radiation Hazards and Tanning Behavior of Cosmetology and Medical Students

No abstract available.</p

Serological profiling reveals hsa-miR-451a as a possible biomarker of anaphylaxis

BACKGROUND. There is a need to support the diagnosis of anaphylaxis by objective markers. miRNAs are promising noncoding RNA species that may serve as serological biomarkers, but their use in diagnosing anaphylaxis has not been systematically studied to our knowledge. We aimed to comprehensively investigate serum biomarker profiles (proteins, lipids, and miRNAs) to support the diagnosis of anaphylaxis. METHODS. Adult patients admitted to the emergency room with a diagnosis of anaphylaxis (<3 hours) were included. Blood samples were taken upon emergency room arrival and 1 month later. RESULTS. Next-generation sequencing of 18 samples (6 patients with anaphylaxis in both acute and nonacute condition, for 12 total samples, and 6 healthy controls) identified hsa-miR-451a to be elevated during anaphylaxis, which was verified by quantitative real-time PCR in the remaining cohort. The random forest classifier enabled us to classify anaphylaxis with high accuracy using a composite model. We identified tryptase, 9 alpha,11 beta-PGF2, apolipoprotein A1, and hsa-miR-451a as serological biomarkers of anaphylaxis. These predictors qualified as serological biomarkers individually but performed better in combination. CONCLUSION. Unexpectedly, hsa-miR-451a was identified as the most relevant biomarker in our data set. We were also able to distinguish between patients with a history of anaphylaxis and healthy individuals with higher accuracy than any other available model. Future studies will need to verify miRNA biomarker utility in real-life clinical settings

Modern therapies in atopic dermatitis: biologics and small molecule drugs

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a frequent, chronic remittent skin disease. The pathophysiology of AD has been increasingly understood within the last years, which may help to identify different endotypes suitable for defined therapies in the future. A patient-oriented therapy considers phenotypical features in addition to genetic and biological markers. The most recent developments in biologics and small-molecule drugs for AD treatment are presented in this article. These molecules, if approved, could change the perspectives for future therapies. Dupilumab is the first approved biologic for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in adolescence and adulthood and has led to a significant improvement in the treatment of this chronic disease. In the present article we present real-life data on the efficacy of dupilumab in adult dermatitis patients. We also discuss other data relevant to the use of dupilumab, and address open questions important for the standard care of atopic dermatitis patients

Prevention and therapy of acute and chronic wounds using NPWT devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, recommendation from The NPWT Working Group

Recent SARS-CoV-2 pandemic leading to a rapidly increasing number of hospitalizations enforced reevaluation of wound management strategies. The optimal treatment strategy for patients with chronic wounds and those recovering from emergency and urgent oncological surgery should aim to minimize the number of hospital admissions, as well as the number of surgical procedures and decrease the length of stay to disburden the hospital staff and to minimize viral infection risk. One of the potential solutions that could help to achieve these goals may be the extensive and early use of NPWT devices in the prevention of wound healing complications. Single-use NPWT devices are helpful in outpatient wound treatment and SSI prevention (ciNPWT) allowing to minimize in-person visits to the health care center while still providing the best possible wound-care. Stationary NPWT should be used in deep SSI and perioperative wound healing disorders as soon as possible. Patient’s education and telemedical support with visual wound healing monitoring and video conversations have the potential to minimize the number of unnecessary in-person visits in patients with wounds and therefore substantially increase the level of care

Refractory anaphylaxis: Data from the European Anaphylaxis Registry

Refractory anaphylaxis (unresponsive to treatment with at least two doses of minimum 300 μg adrenaline) is a rare and often fatal hypersensitivity reaction. Comprehensive data on its definition, prevalence, and risk factors are missing. Using the data from the European Anaphylaxis Registry (11,596 cases in total) we identified refractory anaphylaxis cases (n = 42) and analyzed these in comparison to a control group of severe anaphylaxis cases (n = 4,820). The data show that drugs more frequently elicited refractory anaphylaxis (50% of cases, p < 0.0001) compared to other severe anaphylaxis cases (19.7%). Cases elicited by insects (n = 8) were more often due to bees than wasps in refractory cases (62.5 vs. 19.4%, p = 0.009). The refractory cases occurred mostly in a perioperative setting (45.2 vs. 9.05, p < 0.0001). Intramuscular adrenaline (as a first line therapy) was administered in 16.7% of refractory cases, whereas in 83.3% of cases it was applied intravenously (significantly more often than in severe anaphylaxis cases: 12.3%, p < 0.0001). Second line treatment options (e.g., vasopression with dopamine, methylene blue, glucagon) were not used at all for the treatment of refractory cases. The mortality rate in refractory anaphylaxis was significantly higher (26.2%) than in severe cases (0.353%, p < 0.0001). Refractory anaphylaxis is associated with drug-induced anaphylaxis in particular if allergens are given intravenously. Although physicians frequently use adrenaline in cases of perioperative anaphylaxis, not all patients are responding to treatment. Whether a delay in recognition of anaphylaxis is responsible for the refractory case or whether these cases are due to an overflow with mast cell activating substances—requires further studies. Reasons for the low use of second-line medication (i.e., methylene blue or dopamine) in refractory cases are unknown, but their use might improve the outcome of severe refractory anaphylaxis cases

Different phenotypes of drug-induced anaphylaxis—Data from the European Anaphylaxis Registry

Background Drugs are a frequent cause of severe anaphylactic reactions. Here, we analyze a large dataset on drug induced anaphylaxis regarding elicitors, risk factors, symptoms, and treatment. Methods Data from the European Anaphylaxis Registry (2007–2019) with 1815 reported cases of drug-induced anaphylaxis were studied accordingly. Results Drugs are the third most frequent cause of anaphylaxis reported in the Anaphylaxis Registry. Among the eliciting groups of drugs analgesics and antibiotics were far most often reported. Female and senior patients were more frequently affected, while the number of children with DIA was low. DIA patients had symptoms affecting the skin and mucous membranes (n = 1525, 84.02%), the respiratory (n = 1300, 71.63%), the cardiovascular (n = 1251, 68.93%) and the gastrointestinal system (n = 549, 30.25%). Drugs caused significant more severe reactions, occurred more often in medical facilities and led to increased hospitalization rates in comparison to food and insect venom induced anaphylaxis. Adrenaline was used more often in patients with DIA than in anaphylaxis due to other causes. Patients with skin symptoms received more antihistamines and corticosteroids in the acute treatment, while gastrointestinal symptoms led to less adrenaline use. Conclusion The study contributes to a better understanding of DIA, with a large number of cases from Europe supporting previous data, e.g., analgesics and antibiotics being the most frequent culprits for DIA. Female gender and higher age are relevant risk factors and despite clear recommendations, the emergency treatment of DIA is not administered according to the guidelines.Peer Reviewe