Allergy
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There are only a few studies on the impact of food hypersensitivity (FHS) in children on health-related quality of life (HRQL). The present study was designed to examine this impact in a population-based birth cohort (BAMSE). ⋯ Parents reported that FHS exerts a negative impact on the HRQL of 9-year-old children, in particular in children with symptoms from the lower airways or if the FHS is associated with high levels of food-specific IgE-antibodies. Healthcare-givers must put major effort into improving and maintaining the HRQL of these children.
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Excessive mast cell mediator release may lead to anaphylaxis in patients with mastocytosis. However, the incidence, clinical features and trigger factors have not yet been analyzed. ⋯ Adult patients and children with extensive skin disease with mastocytosis have an increased risk to develop severe anaphylaxis; thus, an emergency set of medication including epinephrine is recommended.
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Administration of meropenem to penicillin-allergic patients who might benefit from this treatment is usually avoided because of a 47.4% rate of cross-reactivity to imipenem, the prototype of the carbapenem class of beta-lactam antibiotics, demonstrated in a single study on the basis of positive responses to skin tests with imipenem reagents. However, recent studies of ours have demonstrated a very low rate of cross-reactivity between penicillins and both meropenem and imipenem in adults. ⋯ Our results demonstrate a low rate of cross-reactivity between penicillins and meropenem. Therefore, the practice of avoiding meropenem in children with immunoglobulin E-mediated hypersensitivity could be abandoned; in those who especially require meropenem treatment, prophylactic skin tests are advisable, because negative results indicate tolerability.
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A recent study has shown that the measurement of specific IgE antibodies to B-cell epitope peptides of wheat omega-5 gliadin (Pep A) and high molecular weight glutenin subunit (Pep B) are useful to diagnose wheat-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (WDEIA). ⋯ Measuring the concentration of specific IgE antibodies to romega-5 gliadin is more useful than to wheat, gluten, or Pep A in the identification of patients with WDEIA.
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Comparative Study
Role of symptoms and lung function in determining asthma control in smokers with asthma.
Cigarette smoking in asthma increases the severity and accelerates the decline in lung function. The relative role of symptoms and lung function in determining asthma control in smokers with asthma is not known. ⋯ Asthma control is significantly worse in asthmatics who smoke compared with never-smokers, with all symptoms related to asthma control uniformly worse in smokers, independent of FEV(1).