Introduction
To assess the safety and efficacy of an oral immunotherapy regimen in patients with allergy to lipid transfer proteins (LTPs).
Materials and methods
Prospective study of 24 patients allergic to LTP with positive skin test and a history of anaphylaxis. All patients underwent a desensitization protocol with commercial peach juice. Rising doses of peach juice were administered, starting with an initial dose of seven drops of a 1/1000 dilution and finishing with a dose of 5 ml at visit 17. At visit 18, all patients performed an open challenge with whole juice at a cumulative dose of 200 ml. All adverse reactions occurring during the administration of the different doses were recorded. Levels of rPru p 3 in the juice were quantified.
Results
There were no severe reactions during the desensitization process in the 24 patients. Seven patients (29%) reported mild oral symptoms, and two patients (8%) had urticaria associated with co-factors (one due to exercise and another due to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Nineteen patients were able to swallow 5 ml of juice and five withdrew from the study. In two pregnant patients the final challenge was not performed. In all, 17/24 patients were able to consume 200 ml peach juice without developing symptoms.
Conclusions
Oral immunotherapy with the regimen used in this study is an effective and safe short-term therapeutic option for patients with allergy to LTPs. Commercial peach juice appears to be suitable for this treatment.
Setting
Primary health care centres in Callao, Peru.
Objectives
To evaluate the effect of universal access to the microscopic-observation drug susceptibility (MODS) assay on treatment outcomes in new and primary multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients and on the process of drug susceptibility testing (DST).
Design
Retrospective review of tuberculosis (TB) registers and clinical records before (2007) and after (2009) the introduction of MODS in 2008.
Results
There were 281 patients in each cohort. Favourable treatment outcomes for 2007 (81%) and 2009 (77%) cohorts were similar. There was an increase in loss to follow-up (from 6% to 10%, P = 0.04) and a reduction in failure rates (from 4% to 0.4%, P = 0.01) in the 2009 compared with the 2007 cohort. In new MDR-TB cases (n = 22), a favourable treatment outcome was improved (from 46% to 82%, P = 0.183) in the 2009 cohort. DST coverage improved (from 24% to 74%, P < 0.001), and a significant reduction in time to diagnosis of drug-susceptible (from 118 to 33 days, P < 0.001) and MDR-TB (from 158 to 52 days, P =30.003) was observed in the 2009 cohort.
Conclusion
Universal access to MODS increased DST coverage, reduced the time required to obtain DST results and was associated with reduced failure rates. MODS can make an important contribution to TB management and control in Peru.
Claver et al.: Early introduction of baked egg (BE) in allergic patients in the first 2 years of life. Clinical and Translational Allergy 2015 5(Suppl 3):P38.
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