Background
According to their parents, some children with aluminium contact allergy and vaccination granulomas may react to aluminium‐containing foods by developing dermatitis, granuloma itch and ...subjective symptoms.
Objectives
The objective of this study is to determine whether oral intake of aluminium‐containing pancakes can cause adverse events and/or systemic contact dermatitis (SCD) in children with vaccination granulomas and aluminium contact allergy.
Patients/Methods
A total of 15 children aged 3–9 years (mean age, 5 years) with vaccination granulomas and positive patch‐test results to aluminium chloride hexahydrate 2%/10% pet. completed a 3‐week blinded randomized controlled crossover oral aluminium/placebo provocation study with pancakes. Granuloma itch and other subjective symptoms were evaluated daily on a visual analogue scale (VAS). Dermatitis was evaluated by the primary investigator, and sleep patterns were tracked with an electronic device. Aluminium bioavailability was assessed by measuring aluminium excretion in the urine. The children served as their own controls with the placebo provocations.
Results
All 15 children completed the study. The mean VAS scores were slightly higher during aluminium provocations compared with placebo for granuloma itch (mean VAS, 1.5 vs. 1.4, p = 0.6) but identical for other subjective symptoms (0.6 vs. 0.6, p = 1). There were no differences in sleep patterns and no significant correlation between urinary aluminium excretion and symptom severity. Three children developed a symmetrical rash on the face or buttocks on day 4 of the aluminium provocations, but not during placebo provocations.
Conclusions
No difference was found between oral aluminium intake and the occurrence of subjective symptoms and granuloma itch, but on a case‐basis oral aluminium may be associated with the development of systemic contact dermatitis.
OBJECTIVETo explore how the parents of children with atopic dermatitis and allergic diseases such as food allergy, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and asthma experience interactions with the Danish ...healthcare system over time.DESIGN AND METHODSA qualitative design with individual in-depth interviews. The analysis was inspired by Systematic Text Condensation.SUBJECTSEleven parents of children with atopic dermatitis and allergic diseases who received treatment at hospitals in the Capital Region of Denmark. The families had experiences of cross-sectoral patient care.RESULTSDespite having the same diseases, the children's care pathways were very different. Mapping demonstrated the intricacy of care pathways for this group of children. We identified three aspects that impacted interaction with healthcare: responsibility, tasks, and roles. The families experienced care when the distribution of tasks and responsibilities associated with treatment and system navigation were consistent with both their expectations and their actual experiences. At the same time, families frequently experienced limited collaboration between healthcare professionals resulting in perceived fragmented care and an extended role for parents as care coordinators. Families felt cared for when healthcare professionals knew both their biomedical and biographical circumstances, and adjusted the level of support and care in accordance with the families' particular needs, expectations, and evolving competences.CONCLUSIONWe suggest that a possible pathway to improve care may be through a partnership approach as part of family-centered care, with general practitioners having a key role in helping to articulate the individual needs and expectations of each family.
Atopic diseases such as atopic dermatitis, food allergy, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and/or asthma are common. In Denmark, however, there are multiple referral pathways for these diseases in the ...healthcare system and they are poorly understood. To describe how children with atopic diseases navigate their way through the Danish healthcare system, a questionnaire was distributed to children aged ≤ 17 years, who were being treated for atopic diseases between August 2020 and June 2021, either by a practising specialist or a hospital department, in the Capital Region of Denmark. A total of 279 children completed the questionnaire and most were referred to a specialist or to a hospital by their general practitioner. No "common track" to hospital existed for patients with ≥ 3 atopic diseases. These patients were more often referred to a hospital compared with children with 2 atopic diseases or fewer (odds ratio OR 3.79; 95% CI 2.07-7.24). The primary determinants for hospital treatment were food allergy (OR 4.69; 95% CI 2.07-10.61) and asthma (OR 2.58; 95% CI 1.18-5.63). In conclusion, children with multiple atopic diseases were more likely to be referred to hospital departments than to practising specialists, mainly due to food allergies.
Background Food allergy to hazelnut occurs both with and without concomitant pollen allergy. Objective We sought to evaluate a panel of hazelnut allergens for diagnosis of hazelnut allergy in Spain, ...Switzerland, and Denmark. Methods Fifty-two patients with a positive double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge result with hazelnuts; 5 patients with a history of anaphylaxis; 62 patients with pollen allergy but hazelnut tolerance; and 63 nonatopic control subjects were included. Serum IgE levels to hazelnut extract, recombinant hazelnut allergens (rCor a 1.04, rCor a 2, rCor a 8, rCor a 11), and native allergens (nCor a 9, nCor a Bd8K, nCor a Bd11K) were analyzed by means of ImmunoCAP. Results Among patients with hazelnut allergy, 91% (Switzerland/Spain, 100%; Denmark, 75%) had IgE to hazelnut extract, 75% to rCor a 1.04, 42% to rCor a 2, 28% to rCor a 8, and 2% to rCor a 11. The highest rate of sensitization to Cor a 1.04 was found in the northern regions (Switzerland/Denmark, 100%; Spain, 18%), whereas IgE to the lipid transfer protein rCor a 8 prevailed in Spain (Spain, 71%; Switzerland, 15%; Denmark, 5%). IgE to profilin rCor a 2 was equally distributed (40% to 45%). Among control subjects with pollen allergy, 61% had IgE to hazelnut extract, 69% to rCor a 1.04, 34% to rCor a 2, 10% to rCor a 8, and 6% to rCor a 11. Conclusion Component-resolved in vitro analyses revealed substantial differences in IgE profiles of hazelnut allergic and hazelnut tolerant patients across Europe.
Objectives This study aimed to examine the association between negative life events, job stressors (low job control or high psychosocial job demands) and offspring asthma phenotypes (early-onset ...transient, early-onset persistent and late-onset asthma). Methods In a population-based cohort study comprising 547 533 liveborn singletons, we determined negative life events and offspring asthma at age six years using data from Danish nationwide registers. We assessed job demands and job control from gender-specific job exposure matrices. Prevalence ratios (PR) of each asthma phenotype were estimated using log-binomial regression. Results Maternal exposure to negative life events prenatally was not significantly associated with offspring asthma. Among mothers with low job demands, low job control was associated with increased risk for early-onset transient asthma PR=1.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09-1.19, early-onset persistent asthma (PR=1.17, 95% CI 1.11-1.23), and late-onset asthma (PR=1.06, 95% CI 1.00-1.14). Among mothers with high job demands, low job control was not associated with offspring asthma apart from a reduced risk of early-onset persistent asthma (PR=0.94, 95% CI 0.90-0.97). These associations were independent of child sex and parental atopic history. Conclusions Maternal stressors in private life do not seem to influence offspring asthma significantly. Low job control is associated with offspring asthma, which is modified by maternal psychosocial job demands. Our findings warrant further exploration.
Non-adherence to asthma controllers increases morbidity among school-aged children. This study aimed to determine non-adherence risk factors in preschool children with asthma. We investigated 172 ...children <6 years diagnosed with asthma in 2018 and analyzed baseline characteristics and loss of control events extracted from the medical records for four years following diagnosis. At end of follow-up, 79 children had a prescription of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and were included in the analyses. Adherence was assessed in a two-year period through pharmacy claims using percentage of days covered (PDC) analyzed dichotomously with non-adherence defined as PDC < 80% and using adherence ratio (AR) defined as days with medical supply divided by days without. Of the 79 children, 59 (74.7%) were classified as non-adherent. In analyses adjusted for sex, age and exacerbations prior to inclusion, adherence was positively associated with having had a loss of control event requiring a step-up in asthma controller (aAR:2.34 1.10;4.98, p = 0.03), oral corticosteroids (aAR:2.45 1.13;5.34, p = 0.026) or redeeming a short-acting b2-agonist prescription (aAR:2.91 1.26;6.74, p = 0.015). Further, atopic comorbidity was associated with increased adherence (aAR:1.18 1.01;1.37, p = 0.039), whereas having a first degree relative with asthma was associated with worse adherence (aAR:0.44 0.23;0.84, p = 0.015). This study found poor adherence to ICS among three quarters of preschool children with asthma. Increasing adherence was associated with atopic comorbidity and loss of control events, whereas lower adherence was associated with atopic predisposition. These findings should be considered to improve adherence in preschool children with asthma.
Background
Tree nut allergy is associated with severe reactions and poly-sensitization to other nuts and peanuts often occurs. There are regional differences in sensitization profiles that result in ...differences in clinical presentation. Denmark is located in a birch pollen endemic area, which could influence the allergy patterns due to pollen cross-sensitization.
Objective
This study aimed to investigate patterns of sensitization and clinical reactivity to tree nuts and peanuts and threshold levels for oral food challenges (OFCs) in a Danish cohort of tree nut allergic children, adolescents, and young adults.
Methods
Forty tree nut allergic subjects were assessed for clinical reactivity to six nuts, i.e., hazelnut, walnut, pistachio, cashew, almond, and peanut, by OFCs or convincing medical history of an immediate allergic reaction or tolerance. Clinical presentation and allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels together with eliciting dose and rescue medication in OFCs were furthermore assessed.
Results
Allergy to two or more tree nuts was observed in most cases. Hazelnut-walnut dual allergy was common but not exclusively observed as concomitant allergies. Allergy to cashew was coincided in all but one of the assessed subjects with pistachio allergy. Half of all assessed subjects were allergic to peanuts. Oral symptoms followed by a skin reaction were the most common symptomatology that lead to OFC cessation and subjects often presented with symptoms from two or more organ systems. OFC threshold levels were within the same range, but cashew was distinguished from other nuts by causing allergic symptoms at the lowest dose. Clinical reactivity and the allergy patterns were to some extent reflected by sIgE levels and by correlations in sIgE between the nuts.
Conclusions
In this Northern European cohort, subjects with clinically relevant tree nut allergy were generally allergic to two or more tree nuts and close to half of them also to peanuts. There were two distinct and independent allergic phenotypes; the majority of hazelnut allergic subjects were also allergic to walnut, and all but one subject with cashew allergy were dual allergic to pistachio. These findings are consistent with a strong sIgE correlation between hazelnut and walnut and a close to total sIgE correlation between cashew and pistachio.
Component resolved diagnostics introduces new possibilities regarding diagnosis of allergic diseases and individualized, allergen-specific treatment. Furthermore, refinement of IgE-based testing may ...help elucidate the correlation or lack of correlation between allergenic sensitization and allergic disease. Novel tools to predict severe outcomes and to plan for allergen-specific treatment are necessary, and because only a small amount of blood is needed to test for a multitude of allergens and allergenic components, component resolved diagnostics is promising. A drawback is the risk of overdiagnosis and misinterpretation of the complex results of such tests. Also, the practical use and selection of allergenic components need to be evaluated in large studies including well-characterized patients and healthy, sensitized controls and with representation of different geographical regions.
Objectives The objective of this study was to examine whether maternal exposure to asthmogens during pregnancy is associated with the development of asthma in 7-year-old Danish children, taking ...atopic status and sex into consideration. Design The study is a prospective follow-up of a birth cohort. Setting and participants A total of 41 724 women and their children from The Danish National Birth Cohort were categorised according to maternal occupational exposure. Exposure information was obtained by combining job title in pregnancy and 18 months after pregnancy with a commonly used asthma Job Exposure Matrix. Primary and secondary outcome measures Primary outcome was parent-reported asthma among their 7-year-old children in an internet-based questionnaire. Secondary outcome was asthma among the same children with or without atopic dermatitis and among boys and girls, respectively. Results Prenatal exposure to low molecular weight (LMW) agents was borderline associated with asthma in children with OR 1.17 (0.95 to 1.44) for children with atopic dermatitis and 1.10 (0.98 to 1.22) for children without. Maternal postnatal exposure was associated with asthma (OR 1.15 (1.04 to 1.28). After mutual adjustment,postnatal exposure (OR 1.13 (0.99 to 1.29) and the combined effects of prenatal and postnatal exposure (OR 1.34 (1.19 to 1.51)) seem to increase the risk of asthma in children. No significant associations were observed for other prenatal or postnatal exposures. The gender of the child did not modify the aforementioned associations. Conclusions Maternal occupational exposures during pregnancy do not seem to be a substantial risk factor for the development of asthma in 7-year-old children. Maternal prenatal and postnatal exposures to LMW agents may predispose the propensity of the children to develop asthma. Future studies should prioritise the characterisation of the timing of exposure in relation to the birth.
Aim
To describe the relationship between loss of control events in preschoolers with asthma and persistence of disease.
Methods
We reviewed medical records of children <6 years diagnosed with asthma ...in 2018 to assess loss of control events during three years of follow‐up. Asthma persistency was defined by redeem of short‐acting β2‐agonist or asthma controllers within one year after the end of follow‐up. Logistic regression models were applied to analyse the association between loss of control events and persistence of asthma.
Results
We included 172 patients (median age 1.8 years), whereof 126 (73.3%) experienced a loss of control event and 87 (50.6%) had asthma one year after the end of follow‐up. Any loss of control event was associated with persistence of asthma adjusted for controller treatment at inclusion, prior exacerbations, atopic comorbidity and caesarean section: aOR, 10.9 (95% CI, 3.9–34.6), p < 0.001. This was also significant restricted to events in the first year of follow‐up: 3.52 (1.50–8.67), p < 0.01 and among children only experiencing one event: 6.4 (1.7–27.3), p = 0.01.
Conclusion
Loss of control events during a 3‐year period among preschoolers with asthma are closely related to disease persistency, which may aid clinicians to assess risk of persistent asthma in young children.