F Catal1, E Topal2, M A Selimoglu3, H Karabiber3, A Baskıran4, E Senbaba1, I Varol3, S Yılmaz4. 1. Inonu University Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Pediatric Allergy and Asthma Department, Malatya, Turkey. 2. Inonu University Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Pediatric Allergy and Asthma Department, Malatya, Turkey. Electronic address: erdemtopal44@gmail.com. 3. Inonu University Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Pediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department, Malatya, Turkey. 4. Inonu University Turgut Ozal Medical Center, Liver Transplant Institute, Malatya, Turkey.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In recent years, the number of studies regarding newly-diagnosed food allergies after liver transplantation has been increasing. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency, aetiology, risk factors, and severity of IgE-mediated food allergies after liver transplantation in children. METHODS: Paediatric patients who underwent liver transplantation at Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Organ Transplantation Institute were included in the study. RESULTS: Forty-nine paediatric patients were enrolled in the study; 26 (53.1%) were female, the median age at transplantation was five years, and median follow-up time after transplantation was 16 months. Six patients (12.2%) developed IgE-mediated food allergies after transplantation; four had urticaria and/or angio-oedema and two developed anaphylaxis after food intake. Patients with and without IgE-mediated food allergies were similar in terms of sex, age at transplantation, comorbid atopic disease, immunosuppressant therapy with tacrolimus, and blood tacrolimus level (p>0.05 for each). Serum total IgE levels ≥100 IU/mL (p=0.02) and peripheral eosinophilia (p=0.026) were more common in the patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies. In five of the six patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies, reaction occurred within the first year after transplantation; the risk of developing a reaction was 2.7 times higher within the first year after transplantation than in subsequent years (95% CI, 1.546-4.914; p=0.026). No Epstein-Barr virus or cytomegalovirus infections were detected in any of the patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies after liver transplantation. CONCLUSION: The risk of developing IgE-mediated food allergies is approximately three times higher within the first year after transplantation than in subsequent years.
BACKGROUND: In recent years, the number of studies regarding newly-diagnosed food allergies after liver transplantation has been increasing. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency, aetiology, risk factors, and severity of IgE-mediated food allergies after liver transplantation in children. METHODS: Paediatric patients who underwent liver transplantation at Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Organ Transplantation Institute were included in the study. RESULTS: Forty-nine paediatric patients were enrolled in the study; 26 (53.1%) were female, the median age at transplantation was five years, and median follow-up time after transplantation was 16 months. Six patients (12.2%) developed IgE-mediated food allergies after transplantation; four had urticaria and/or angio-oedema and two developed anaphylaxis after food intake. Patients with and without IgE-mediated food allergies were similar in terms of sex, age at transplantation, comorbid atopic disease, immunosuppressant therapy with tacrolimus, and blood tacrolimus level (p>0.05 for each). Serum total IgE levels ≥100 IU/mL (p=0.02) and peripheral eosinophilia (p=0.026) were more common in the patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies. In five of the six patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies, reaction occurred within the first year after transplantation; the risk of developing a reaction was 2.7 times higher within the first year after transplantation than in subsequent years (95% CI, 1.546-4.914; p=0.026). No Epstein-Barr virus or cytomegalovirus infections were detected in any of the patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies after liver transplantation. CONCLUSION: The risk of developing IgE-mediated food allergies is approximately three times higher within the first year after transplantation than in subsequent years.