Long-Term Peanut OIT Has Lasting Benefits, Study Reveals

By:
in Food Allergy, Food Allergy News, Peanut & Tree Nut
Published: March 15, 2019
Dr. Edwin Kim speaks at AAAAI meeting in February 2019. Photo: Karras Photography

In a long-term follow-up with 55 peanut-allergic children who had undergone oral or sublingual immunotherapy, 89 percent of patients followed instructions to continue eating peanut after the treatment.

The majority – 74 percent – ate peanut daily. About 23 percent experienced some mild symptoms of the gut or skin (hives), while one reaction required an epinephrine auto-injector.

Researchers reviewed data of patients who had completed oral or sublingual immunotherapy from 2010 until 2017 and continued to eat peanut after treatment.

“The majority of patients continued to consume peanut food equivalents up to eight years after their original immunotherapy trials,” said study author Dr. Edwin Kim of the University of North Carolina. “Food equivalents may be safe for certain patients following immunotherapy, and could help reduce the risk of peanut allergy sensitivities returning.”

Still Kim warns, “no patient with peanut allergies should try peanut food equivalents without working with their doctor.”

The study was presented at the AAAAI allergists’ meeting in San Francisco in late February.

For full AAAAI 2019 coverage, see here.