Neonatal and paediatric HAIs are common adverse events at district and regional hospitals. This at-risk population should be prioritised for HAI surveillance and prevention through improved infection prevention practices and HH compliance.

Background: Skin testing is a mainstay in allergology, and its importance is increasing in several fields. The ability to choose the most suitable technique according to the clinical setting is an advantage for the medical team. Objectives: To describe in detail an alternative technique of the coetaneous allergy test (skin scrape test) conceived as a variation of the former skin scratch test; to evaluate its value as a tool for diagnosis of immune sensitization; and to compare its accuracy with the skin prick test. Methods: The skin scrape test and skin prick test were performed side by side with the same allergen extracts in 162 human subjects classified in two groups according to the known presence or absence of serum specific-IgE to these allergens. Results: The sensitivity of the skin scrape test to detect immediate reactions was 85.0%. The sensitivity of the skin prick test was 86.5%. The sensitivity of both techniques analyzed together as a unique procedure was 94.2%. The specificity of the skin scrape test was 90.1%.The specificity of the skin prick test was 72.9%.The specificity of both tests analyzed together as a unique procedure was 70.5%. Conclusions: The skin scrape test is an alternative and complementary technique for allergic skin testing, and it is able to detect IgE-specific immune sensitization without the disadvantages of the skin scratch test. The skin scrape test has similar outcomes to the skin prick test.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the use of β-lactoglobulin polymerized using microbial transglutaminase and heating to identify whether protein polymerization could reduce in vivo allergenicity and maintain in vitro and ex vivo immunoreactivity for use in tolerance-induction protocols. METHODS: Based on previous protocols applied in mice and children, we performed in vivo challenges (using a skin prick test) with native and polymerized β-lactoglobulin in adult patients with an IgE-mediated allergy to β-lactoglobulin. In vitro humoral immunoreactivity was analyzed using immunoblotting. Cell-mediated immunoreactivity was analyzed using ex vivo challenges with native and polymerized β-lactoglobulin and monitored by leukocyte adherence inhibition tests. RESULTS: The skin tests demonstrated that there was a significant reduction in immediate cutaneous reactivity after polymerization. Polymerization did not decrease the immunoblotting detection of s-IgE specific to β-lactoglobulin. Cell-mediated immunoreactivity, as assessed by ex vivo challenges and leukocyte adherence inhibition tests, did not exhibit significant differences between leukocytes challenged with native versus polymerized β-lactoglobulin. CONCLUSIONS: The polymerization of β-lactoglobulin decreased in vivo allergenicity and did not decrease in vitro humoral or ex vivo cell-mediated immunoreactivity. Therefore, we conclude that inducing polymerization using transglutaminase represents a promising technique to produce suitable molecules for the purpose of designing oral/sublingual tolerance induction protocols for the treatment of allergies.

Acquired delayed-onset hypolactasia is a common autosomal recessive condition. Cow's milk allergies, conversely, are less common conditions that may manifest with equivalent symptoms and are able to simulate and/or aggravate lactose intolerance. This study was designed to evaluate the contribution of IgE-mediated cow's milk sensitization to the symptomatology of adult patients with lactose-free diet refractory lactose intolerance. Forty-six adult patients with lactose intolerance and persistent symptoms despite a lactose-free diet underwent skin-prick test to investigate cow's milk, goat's milk, and soy protein-specific-IgE. SDS-PAGE immunoblotting was used to investigate the presence of cow's milk protein-specific IgE. The percentage of patients who had skin reactions to whole cow's milk, alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin, caseins, goat's milk, and soy was 69.5, 36.9, 56.5, 56.5%, 54.3, and 50%, respectively. The percentage of patients with immunoblot-detected IgE specific for alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin, caseins, and bovine serum albumin was 21.7, 63, 67.3, and 2.1%, respectively. IgE-mediated sensitization to cow's milk is a frequent comorbidity in subjects with lactose-free diet refractory lactose intolerance and is worth consideration in patients with this condition.

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The susceptibility of the MAP Brazilian strain (F1 to F5 progenies) of S. mansoni to four antischistosomal drugs has been reported in a previous study. In the present investigation, progeny F14 of the same strain, was tested for stability to the same 4 drugs. A new medication, Oltipraz (35,972 RP), was added to the study. Five groups of 12 mice infected with cercariae by tail immersion were treated with hycanthone, oxamniquine, niridazole, praziquantel and Oltipraz. An untreated group was used as control. Schistosomal activity was assessed by the localization of worms in the portal vein system, by oogram changes, and percentage of parasite reduction. The stability of the susceptibility of progeny F14 did not change in relation to generations F1 to F5; the progeny was resistant to hycanthone and oxamniquine; but sensitive to niridazole, praziquantel and Oltipraz. We emphasize the importance of the phenomenon of resistance of the worm in view of the fact that oxamniquine has been widely used in Brazilian areas where mansonic schistosomiasis is endemic.

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Background: Due to the lack of standardized laboratory procedures able to demonstrate specific non—IgE-mediated immune responses against latex allergens, these conditions are diagnosed mostly by clinical criteria based on empiric exclusion prescriptions monitored by in vivo challenge tests. Objective: To evaluate the opportunity of an ex vivo challenge immunoassay, the Leukocyte Adherence Inhibition (LAI) Test (LAIT), to discriminate non—IgE-mediated latex-specific immunoreactivity. Methods: Ex vivo challenge tests performed with Hevea Brasiliense’s latex extract, monitored by LAIT, were assayed in an asymptomatic control group and a group of patients with diverse respiratory and cutaneous non—IgE-mediated allergic conditions, clinically diagnosed by a certified allergologist. Results: The mean LAI of the control group was 8.3%. The mean LAI of the complete patients’ group was 41.1%. The non-parametric Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U (WMWU) test comparing the control group with the whole patient’s group showed significance with a p-value < 0.00001. The WMWU test comparing the control group with each other patient’s group showed significance with a p-value < α = 0.05 for all comparisons. The WMWU test comparing the patients’ groups between each other did not show any significant p-value. Conclusion: Several patients from the diverse non—IgE-mediated allergic phenotypes presented variable immunoreactivity against the latex extract, as demonstrated by the LAIT, which proved to be an easy, quick, and inexpensive ex vivo immunoassay with the potential to predict individual immunoreactivity against Hevea brasiliensis latex allergens in real-world patients with non—IgE-mediated allergies.