04 Dec Peanut Oral Immunotherapy Found Safe and Effective in Real World Study of Preschoolers

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Soller

Lianne Soller, PhD
Allergy Research Manager
BC Children’s Hospital Allergy Clinic
Vancouver, BC, Canada

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Peanut oral immunotherapy (also known as OIT) has been studied for many years in clinical trials and has been found to be safe and effective in preschoolers. However, we know that clinical trials do not always reflect what happens in the real world.

We wanted to see study whether peanut OIT would work as well in the real world. This is a follow up of our preschool peanut OIT safety study published in April 2019 which noted only 0.4% severe reactions and 4% epinephrine use during build-up.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: After one year, almost every child (more than 98 per cent) who participated in the study could eat three to four peanuts without reaction during an allergist-supervised oral challenge, which is enough to protect from 99 per cent of accidental exposures. And, nearly 80 per cent of the preschoolers in the study were able to eat 15 peanuts without reaction.

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Although the risk of a fatal reaction to peanuts is low in patients with peanut allergy, it has a major impact on quality of life and many families feel hopeless in dealing with what can seem like an unmanageable problem. Now, thanks to oral immunotherapy, these kids can accidentally eat something with peanut butter in it—like a cookie or cake—and not suffer a reaction, which is wonderful news for the families.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Response: We have shown that preschool peanut OIT is both safe and effective in a real-world setting. We must continue research into other types of food OIT (for example, tree nuts) and treatment options for older children and adults.

MedicalResearch.com: Is there anything else you would like to add? Any disclosures?

Response: The earlier children undergo oral immunotherapy, the better. If left unchecked, peanut allergy can become life-long and reactions can become more severe, which can result in social isolation, bullying, and anxiety.

I do not have any relevant disclosures.

Citation:

Lianne Soller, Elissa M. Abrams, Stuart Carr, Sandeep Kapur, Gregory A. Rex, Sara Leo, Mary McHenry, Timothy K. Vander Leek, Joanne Yeung, Victoria E. Cook, Tiffany Wong, Kyla J. Hildebrand, Raymond Mak, Thomas V. Gerstner, Scott B. Cameron, Edmond S. Chan,
First Real-World Effectiveness Analysis of Preschool Peanut Oral Immunotherapy,
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice,
2020,,ISSN 2213-2198,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaip.2020.10.045.

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Last Updated on December 4, 2020 by Marie Benz MD FAAD