Real-world peanut oral immunotherapy is highly effective in preschoolers

Published online: November 19, 2020

Peanut allergy is an important health issue for families, requiring constant vigilance and negatively affecting quality of life. However, real-world studies have not yet been performed to determine the effectiveness of treatments for peanut allergy in preschoolers.  

This study, recently published by Soller et al in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice is the first to describe the effectiveness of peanut oral immunotherapy in preschoolers in the real-world, meaning outside the clinical research setting.

Preschoolers in 4 Canadian provinces were fed increasing doses of peanut up to a maintenance dose of 300mg (about 1 peanut), with daily dosing at home. After 1 year on the 300mg peanut dose, preschoolers were offered an oral food challenge to peanut to find out how much they could eat without having any allergic symptoms.  

In this study, 117 preschoolers with peanut allergies were given the daily 300mg peanut dose. After 1 year, nearly 80 percent of the preschoolers could eat 15 peanuts, and 98 percent could eat 3 or 4 peanuts, without an allergic reaction. Two children had epinephrine administered, but there were no severe reactions. This study suggests that peanut oral immunotherapy is highly effective for preschoolers who received an oral food challenge after 1 year on the therapy.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice is an official journal of the AAAAI, focusing on practical information for the practicing clinician.

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