Oral immunotherapy in pediatrics

Abstract

IgE-mediated food allergy (FA) has been emerging as a public health priority, mainly in children. It represents a heavy burden for the entire society and not only for the patients and their families. There is evidence that in children with persistent FA, at least to cow's milk, hen's egg, and peanut, oral immunotherapy (OIT) may increase the reaction threshold to food allergen(s), while receiving active therapy (the so-called “desensitization”). Furthermore, OIT protects patients from the occurrence of severe reactions in the event of accidental ingestion of the culprit food during treatment. However, many gaps are still unsolved, including safety issues, identification of predictive biomarkers, and post-desensitization efficacy. This article briefly summarizes the current evidence and the main needs in OIT to stimulate the development of longitudinal, prospective, well-designed studies able to fill the current gaps soon.