Allergy/Asthma News

Computer-generated phone calls based on a patient’s electronic health record and answers to questions led to a small but statistically significant increase in patients with asthma taking their medications, according to findings recently published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Many parents of children who require allergy treatment with epinephrine autoinjectors do not regularly use the product during an anaphylactic event, according to research presented at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition. A significant number of these parents were too scared or emotional to administer the potentially life-saving drug when needed, researchers said.

The FDA announced that due to improper attachment of labels, some EpiPen 0.3-mg and EpiPen Jr 0.15-mg auto-injectors may be unable to dispense epinephrine.

The FDA is requesting information regarding the prevalence of sesame allergies in the United States to determine whether the product should be mandatorily declared as an allergen on food labels. Currently, only the eight major food allergens — milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans — are required to be declared on food products by federal law.

At least 14 million asthma-related ED visits around the world are caused by air pollution, according to research published in Environmental Health Perspectives. A significant amount of the pollution is generated by humans, researchers wrote.

Treatable traits were more often found in patients with severe asthma than those with non-severe asthma, according to findings recently published in Respirology.

Obesity modified how airway muscles worked, causing a greater risk for asthma, according to findings recently published in the American Journal of Physiology — Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.

The FDA has approved 75 mg/0.5 mL and 150 mg/1 mL single-dose prefilled syringes of Xolair as additional formulations for patients with allergic asthma and chronic idiopathic urticaria, according to press releases from Genentech and Novartis.

Removing dogs, cats and secondhand smoke from the homes of patients with asthma may not be necessary if certain asthma guidelines are followed, according to a study being presented later this month at CHEST 2018.

Tezepelumab was recently granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for treating patients with severe asthma without an eosinophilic phenotype, AstraZeneca and Amgen announced.