Life‐threatening anaphylaxis in children with cow's milk allergy during oral immunotherapy and after treatment failure

Abstract

Abstract Background Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a promising therapeutic approach for children with persistent IgE‐mediated cow's milk allergy (CMA) but data are still limited. Objective To analyze the prevalence of life‐threatening anaphylaxis in children with persistent CMA undergoing OIT and to evaluate potential risk factors. Methods This is a retrospective cohort study among children with persistent CMA undergoing OIT over a 20‐year period, following a specific Oral Tolerance Induction protocol. Adverse reactions during the whole period and data on long‐term outcome were registered. Descriptive and nondescriptive statistics were used to describe data. Results Three hundred forty‐two children were evaluated. During OIT, 12 children (3.5%) presented severe anaphylactic reactions that needed an adrenaline injection. None required intubation, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, or showed a fatal outcome. Five of them abandoned OIT, five reached unrestricted diet and the others are still undergoing OIT. As far as outcome is concerned, 51.2% reached an unrestricted diet; 13.5% are at the build‐up stage; and 28.0% (97 patients) stopped the OIT. Among these 96 children, 6.3% experienced a severe reaction induced by accidental ingestion of milk with two fatal outcomes. Conclusions The risk of life‐threatening reactions was nearly two times lower (3.5% vs. 6.3%) among patients assuming milk during OIT than in those who stopped the protocol. A trend in favor of more severe reactions, requiring ICU admission, or fatal, was shown in patients who stopped OIT.

Keywords

• allergy
• anaphylaxis
• children
• cow milk
• immunotherapy