Allergy/Asthma News

Common factors, including exercise and lack of sleep, substantially decreased the threshold of reactivity in patients with peanut allergy, thus heightening the risk for an allergic reaction, according to data presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.

In a recent randomized control trial, researchers asked pediatric patients with nut allergies to casually touch the allergen, hoping it would reduce their anxiety about coming in contact with it. This approach did not reduce their anxiety any more than education did alone, but researchers stressed that casual exposure to allergens is a common worry among patients, and providers should discuss it.

Very few children with reported penicillin allergy have a reaction when tested with a graded challenge, according to research presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting. The findings add to growing evidence that penicillin allergy is overreported.

Clinicians did not consistently adhere to peanut allergy–related guidelines or conduct proper allergy screenings, according to three different abstracts presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting. 

The number of allergists that reported obstacles in conducting oral food challenges increased during the past decade, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting.

Young children with peanut allergy who received 12 months of treatment with a peanut patch had a significant difference in treatment response rate vs. those who received placebo, according to findings published in JAMA. However, the trial did not meet a prespecified criterion for a positive trial result.

There are a number of misconceptions about food allergy, and primary care physicians can best serve their patients by dispelling those inaccuracies, experts told Healio Primary Care Today.

The FDA recently issued approval to the first generic version of GlaxoSmithKline’s Advair Diskus (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) for reducing exacerbations and airflow obstruction in patients aged 4 years and older with asthma or COPD, according to a press release by the agency.

Children with uncontrolled or undocumented control of their asthma symptoms were more likely to receive prescriptions for both oral and inhaled corticosteroids, according to research published in Clinical Pediatrics.

Patients hospitalized for asthma who received antibiotic therapy had a significantly longer hospital length of stay and higher hospital costs, according to findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.