Peanut allergies are one of the most common food allergies and can induce acute symptoms from skin reactions such as urticarial and atopic eczema to life-threatening anaphylactic reactions.1 This particular allergy adversely affects a patient’s quality of life due to dietary restrictions as well as the need for ready emergency medications in case of an anaphylactic reaction.2 Peanut allergies are a global health issue that affects about 1-3% of western children with a sudden increase in the number of cases over the past 10-15 years.3,4
The most current consensus statement by Fleischer et al on peanut allergy guidelines states to expose infants to peanut products early.3,4 Fleischer et al’s new evidence recommends to introduce peanut products …show more content…
Traditional subcutaneous immunotherapy is found to be unsafe for these patients.5 Oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) are two treatments that have shown statistically significant benefits for patients with peanut allergies.6-9 Oral immunotherapy is a technique used to reduce the allergic reaction by re-introducing the allergen in gradually increasing amounts.10 In sublingual immunotherapy, the patient is exposed to an allergen extract either in drop or tablet form which is held under their tongue for one to two minutes and then swallowed.10 Moreover, epicutaneous immunotherapy is a new technique that is being developed and shows promising results with peanut desensitization in murine studies. This technique is based around Viaskin®, an epicutaneous delivery system that allows the allergen to be applied repeatedly onto the skin at home.1 The discussed immunotherapy techniques demonstrated significant improvements to the exposure to peanuts, however the small number of randomized controlled trials have small sample sizes and still show some adverse effects. Due to the lack of data, it is impossible to conclusively decide which immunotherapy is most effective and safe for the clinical setting. The purpose of this literature review is to understand the research behind the current guidelines and efficacies of …show more content…
SUMsearch and Cochrane databases have been used, but other database resources such as TRIP to search for “immunotherapy peanut efficacy” will also be utilized in my research. The two immunotherapies in contention are oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). I will be conducting a literature review of studies of OIT and SLIT,7-9 as well as a meta-analysis study.6 I am excluding injection immunotherapy from this review, since its effectiveness has been put into question by a study by Nelson et al in 1997, which illustrated its detrimental and ineffective results on subjects with peanut allergies.5 Epicutaneous immunotherapy is also a new, developing method showing promising results. Mondoulet et al. summarize the current state of the research for this method, which I am planning to include into my review as well.
The most current consensus statement by Fleischer et al on peanut allergy guidelines states to expose infants to peanut products early.3,4 Fleischer et al’s new evidence recommends to introduce peanut products …show more content…
Traditional subcutaneous immunotherapy is found to be unsafe for these patients.5 Oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) are two treatments that have shown statistically significant benefits for patients with peanut allergies.6-9 Oral immunotherapy is a technique used to reduce the allergic reaction by re-introducing the allergen in gradually increasing amounts.10 In sublingual immunotherapy, the patient is exposed to an allergen extract either in drop or tablet form which is held under their tongue for one to two minutes and then swallowed.10 Moreover, epicutaneous immunotherapy is a new technique that is being developed and shows promising results with peanut desensitization in murine studies. This technique is based around Viaskin®, an epicutaneous delivery system that allows the allergen to be applied repeatedly onto the skin at home.1 The discussed immunotherapy techniques demonstrated significant improvements to the exposure to peanuts, however the small number of randomized controlled trials have small sample sizes and still show some adverse effects. Due to the lack of data, it is impossible to conclusively decide which immunotherapy is most effective and safe for the clinical setting. The purpose of this literature review is to understand the research behind the current guidelines and efficacies of …show more content…
SUMsearch and Cochrane databases have been used, but other database resources such as TRIP to search for “immunotherapy peanut efficacy” will also be utilized in my research. The two immunotherapies in contention are oral immunotherapy (OIT) and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). I will be conducting a literature review of studies of OIT and SLIT,7-9 as well as a meta-analysis study.6 I am excluding injection immunotherapy from this review, since its effectiveness has been put into question by a study by Nelson et al in 1997, which illustrated its detrimental and ineffective results on subjects with peanut allergies.5 Epicutaneous immunotherapy is also a new, developing method showing promising results. Mondoulet et al. summarize the current state of the research for this method, which I am planning to include into my review as well.