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IgE-Mediated Food Allergy in Children: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management

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A special issue of Medicina (ISSN 1648-9144). This special issue belongs to the section "Pediatrics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2021) | Viewed by 23517

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Francesca Mori

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Guest Editor

Allergy Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Anna Meyer Children’s University Hospital, 50139 Florence, Italy
Interests: drug allergy; IgE-mediated food allergy; food allergy immunotherapy; food-protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome; eosinophilic esophagitis

Dr. Simona Barni

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor

Allergy Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Anna Meyer Children’s University Hospital, 50139 Florence, Italy
Interests: IgE-mediated food allergy; food allergy immunotherapy; food-protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome; eosinophilic esophagitis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

IgE-mediated food allergy is defined as a hypersensitivity reaction to ingested food with allergic symptoms ranging from urticaria to anaphylaxis.

Its prevalence in Westernized countries has been increasing in the past two decades, and it affects 6% and 8% of children in Europe and the US, respectively. The mechanism that leads to food allergies is the breaking of immunologic and clinical tolerance to food allergens. The diagnosis of IgE-mediated food allergy is based on the combined use of a detailed medical history, the research of specific IgE in vivo and in vitro, elimination diet, and oral food challenge.

The only treatment that is currently available for the treatment of food allergy is a strict elimination diet. This type of attitude, which we could define as “passive”, does not remove the risk of accidental reactions due to the involuntary intake of the culprit food.

For food allergy management, an “active” approach such as specific allergen immunotherapy is urgently needed, which is currently under development and is used only for research purposes.

This Special Issue aims to provide an updated review of IgE-mediated food allergy in children in terms of epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention, diagnosis, and management.

Dr. Francesca Mori
Dr. Simona Barni
Guest Editors

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Keywords

child
diagnosis
epidemiology
IgE-mediated food allergy
immunotherapy
management
pathogenesis
prevention

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 1706 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prevalence of Food-Hypersensitivity and Food-Dependent Anaphylaxis in Colombian Schoolchildren by Parent-Report

by Carlos Eduardo Beltrán-Cárdenas, Diana María Granda-Restrepo, Alejandro Franco-Aguilar, Veronica Lopez-Teros, Aldo Alejandro Arvizu-Flores, Feliznando Isidro Cárdenas-Torres, Noé Ontiveros, Francisco Cabrera-Chávez and Jesús Gilberto Arámburo-Gálvez

Medicina 2021, 57(2), 146; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/medicina57020146 - 05 Feb 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2172

Abstract

Background and objectives: The epidemiology of food allergy (FA) and food-dependent anaphylaxis remains unknown in Colombia. Our aim was to estimate by parent-report the prevalence of FA and food-dependent anaphylaxis in a Colombian population of schoolchildren. Materials and methods: A printed questionnaire was sent to parents of schoolchildren aged 5–12 years old from Medellín, Colombia in order to collect FA-related data. Results: Nine hundred and sixty-nine (969) parents returned the questionnaire with valid responses (response rate, 52.5%). The estimated prevalence rates (95% CI) were: adverse food reactions 12.79% (10.76–15.07), “perceived FA, ever” 10.93% (9.08–13.08), “physician-diagnosed FA, ever” 4.33% (3.14–5.81), “immediate-type FA, ever” 6.81% (5.30–8.58), “immediate-type FA, current” 3.30% (2.26–4.63), and food-dependent anaphylaxis 1.85% (1.10–2.92). The most frequently reported food allergens were milk (1.44%), fruits (0.41%), meat (0.41%), and peanut (0.3%). Sixty-one percent of “food-dependent anaphylaxis” cases sought medical attention, but only eleven percent of the cases reported the prescription of an epinephrine autoinjector. Conclusions: FA and food-dependent anaphylaxis are not uncommon among schoolchildren from Colombia. The prescription of epinephrine autoinjectors should be encouraged among health personnel for the optimal management of suspected cases of food-dependent anaphylaxis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue IgE-Mediated Food Allergy in Children: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management)

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Review

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22 pages, 1192 KiB

Open AccessReview

IgE-Mediated Fish Allergy in Children

by Betul Buyuktiryaki, Marzio Masini, Francesca Mori, Simona Barni, Giulia Liccioli, Lucrezia Sarti, Lorenzo Lodi, Mattia Giovannini, George du Toit, Andreas Ludwig Lopata and Maria Andreina Marques-Mejias

Medicina 2021, 57(1), 76; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/medicina57010076 - 18 Jan 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7955

Abstract

Fish allergy constitutes a severe problem worldwide. Its prevalence has been calculated as high as 7% in paediatric populations, and in many cases, it persists into adulthood with life-threatening signs and symptoms. The following review focuses on the epidemiology of Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated fish allergy, its pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and a thorough approach to diagnosis and management in the paediatric population. The traditional approach for managing fish allergy is avoidance and rescue medication for accidental exposures. Food avoidance poses many obstacles and is not easily maintained. In the specific case of fish, food is also not the only source of allergens; aerosolisation of fish proteins when cooking is a common source of highly allergenic parvalbumin, and elimination diets cannot prevent these contacts. Novel management approaches based on immunomodulation are a promising strategy for the future of these patients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue IgE-Mediated Food Allergy in Children: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management)

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12 pages, 705 KiB

Open AccessReview

Eosinophilic Esophagitis as a Side Effect of Food Oral Immunotherapy

by Antonella Cianferoni

Medicina 2020, 56(11), 618; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/medicina56110618 - 16 Nov 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3807

Abstract

Food allergies (FAs) include a spectrum of immune-mediated serious and potentially life-threatening medical conditions with an overall estimated prevalence ranging from 4% to 8% in the U.S. and Europe. Significant progress in food allergen-specific immunotherapy has been accomplished over the past 10 years. The most studied strategy has been oral immunotherapy (OIT), also known as food desensitization, a treatment in which a child is slowly and deliberately given a small amount of the food to ingest (that previously was a food allergy trigger) with the ultimate goal of the child eating that food without a reaction. OIT is now recommended in the European guidelines for the treatment of milk, egg, and peanut allergies and was the first American Food Drug Administration (FDA) approved product for the prevention of severe reaction to peanuts in 4–17 year olds to be released on the market. The side effects associated with OIT treatment trials are mild to moderate, predominantly oropharyngeal, and easily treated. More severe reactions, such as generalized urticaria/angioedema, wheezing/respiratory distress, laryngeal edema, and repetitive emesis, have been reported. However systemic reactions are very rare. Low-dose immunotherapy is associated with significantly fewer side effects. Currently, its most limiting allergic side effect is that approximately 10–15% of subjects treated with OIT experience gastrointestinal symptoms, preventing the continuation of therapy. Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has also been reported as a cause of persistent abdominal symptoms in OIT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue IgE-Mediated Food Allergy in Children: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management)

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16 pages, 1263 KiB

Open AccessReview

Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-Mediated Food Allergy in Children: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management

by Simona Barni, Giulia Liccioli, Lucrezia Sarti, Mattia Giovannini, Elio Novembre and Francesca Mori

Medicina 2020, 56(3), 111; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/medicina56030111 - 04 Mar 2020

Cited by 56 | Viewed by 8993

Abstract

A food allergy is an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated hypersensitive reaction to food, which consists in the appearance of allergic symptoms; it can vary from common urticaria to even fatal anaphylaxis. The prevalence of food allergies has been increasing in the past twenty years and it represents a major public health problem in industrialized countries. The mechanism that leads to food allergies is the lack of immunologic and clinical tolerance to food allergens. The diagnosis of IgE-mediated food allergies is based on the combined use of a detailed medical history, in-vivo, and in-vitro research of specific IgE, the elimination diet, and the double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge. The only currently available treatment for allergies is the strict elimination diet. This type of attitude, which we could define as “passive”, does not overcome the risk of accidental reactions due to involuntary intake of the culprit food. For food allergy management, an “active” approach is urgently needed, such as specific allergen immunotherapy, which is currently under development and only used for research purposes. This article aims to give an updated review of IgE-mediated food allergies in pediatric populations in terms of epidemiology, pathogenesis, prevention, diagnosis, and management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue IgE-Mediated Food Allergy in Children: Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management)

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