Subjects achieving sustained unresponsiveness to egg following four years of oral immunotherapy likely to consume and tolerate eggs five years later, according to study from AAAAI Annual Meeting
San Francisco, CA – A study presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) has found that certain patients treated with egg oral immunotherapy (OIT) are likely to continue consuming and tolerating egg five years after treatment.
Robert A. Wood, MD, FAAAAI, 2018-2019 AAAAI President, was an author of the research. “Long-term results and implications of egg oral immunotherapy, and food immunotherapy in general, have been lacking,” he said. “By completing this follow-up, we’re paving the way to develop biomarkers predictive of patient treatment responses, which will allow us to better mitigate treatment risks and assess oral immunotherapy clinical outcomes.”
Patients allergic to egg were randomized to receive egg OIT for up to four years or a placebo (year one only). Patients who passed oral food challenges while still on egg OIT therapy were considered desensitized and underwent additional oral food challenges, as well as open feeding of egg 4 to 6 weeks after stopping therapy to assess sustained unresponsiveness (SU). For five years following treatment, patients were given long-term follow-up questionnaires to determine continued tolerance of egg.
At study completion, 50% of patients were classified with SU, 28% as desensitized (without SU) and 22% as not desensitized. Of those classified with SU, 93% were ingesting some form of egg compared to 64% of the placebo group. Of SU classified patients, 100% were able to ingest baked and concentrated egg compared to desensitized, not desensitized, and placebo groups (43%, 17% and 36% respectively).
“Patients classified with sustained unresponsiveness were less likely to report adverse reactions, and more likely to report greater dietary egg intake,” said Dr. Wood. “This study conveys that egg oral immunotherapy can be a very effective treatment for egg allergies. Future studies will help us determine who will most benefit from egg oral immunotherapy, especially recognizing that even some patients on placebo were doing well five years later given that some children will naturally outgrow their egg allergy. We will use this information to design future studies and monitor the long-term implications of egg oral immunotherapy.”
Visit aaaai.org to learn more about food allergy. Research presented at the AAAAI Annual Meeting, February 22-25 in San Francisco, California, is published in an online supplement to The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) represents allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic and immunologic diseases. Established in 1943, the AAAAI has nearly 7,000 members in the United States, Canada and 72 other countries. The AAAAI’s Find an Allergist/Immunologist service is a trusted resource to help you find a specialist close to home.
