IntroductionTo find out whether children with food allergy have an increased risk of recurrent upper and lower respiratory tract infections and of asthma.AimTo describe the clinical profile of children diagnosed with food allergy referred to the Allergy Clinic.Material and methodsWe conducted a retrospective study to assess the patients’ demographic, anthropometric and clinical data. The analysis included data of all children by the age of 10 years (registered with the Allergy Clinic between 2012 and 2013) in whom IgE mediated food allergy had been diagnosed during 18 months of observation.ResultsWe included 280 children into the analysis. Recurrent respiratory tract infections (rRTI), asthma and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms were observed in 153 (54.6%), 96 (34.3%), 39 (13.9%), respectively, with a significant increasing trend across age-subgroups. In children from 1 to 2 years old, sensitization to β-lactoglobulin increased the risk of rRTI (OR = 3.91; 95% CI: 1.03–14.87). In older children sensitization to allergens other than milk or egg decreases the risk of rRTI (OR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.10–0.62); sensitization to egg decreased the risk of asthma diagnosis (OR = 0.09; 95% CI: 0.01–0.75). We did not identify food allergens which change the risk of GI symptoms in children. This finding was consistent throughout all age-subgroups.ConclusionsSensitization to β-lactoglobulin increased the risk of rRTI in children under 2 years of age nearly four times. The presence of sensitization to food allergens above 3 years of age did not increase the risk of developing clinical presentation of food allergy other than atopic dermatitis.
Blastocystis hominis is one of the most common parasites present in the human gastrointestinal tract. Transmission usually occurs via food and water contaminated with cystic forms or via the faecal-oral route. The prevalence of infection is approximately 30-50% in developing countries and about 1.5-10% in developed ones. Blastocystis hominis was long considered as a large intestine commensal due to asymptomatic infestation, possibly characterised by temporary or permanent gastrointestinal carrier state, in some cases. Currently, this protozoan is considered pathogenic as symptoms develop in the course of infestation, especially in infected immunocompromised individuals. The importance of Blastocystis hominis as a factor responsible for enteral and parenteral symptoms is underestimated in clinical practice, and the infestation with this parasite is underdiagnosed. We present a case of a 5-year-old boy infected with Blastocystis hominis, who developed gastrointestinal symptoms and urticaria.
Infections, especially those of the respiratory system, are very common in children from areas with high air pollution, and the incidence of infections is even greater in the case of immature immune system. Zinc plays an important role in the regulation of innate and acquired immune response. This element is involved in the production of proteins, wound healing, DNA synthesis and cell division, and is essential in the development and activation of T cells. Zinc deficiency disrupts phagocytosis, intracellular killing and cytokine production by macrophages. The aim of the study was to assess serum zinc levels in children with recurrent respiratory infections from the Łódź region, diagnosed at the Department of Paediatrics and Allergy in Korczak Paediatric Centre. Materials and methods: The study included 60 children with recurrent infections (≥6 respiratory infections over 6 months) and 60 healthy children aged 1-18 years. Flame spectrometry was used to measure serum zinc levels in all patients. Results: Nearly 40% of children with recurrent infections had low serum zinc levels (<70 μg/dL). There were no statistically significant differences in zinc levels depending on sex. Multivariate analysis showed significant differences in serum zinc levels between the control group and the group with recurrent respiratory infections (p = 0.044). Conclusions: The obtained results indicate that zinc deficiency is frequent in children with recurrent respiratory infections from the region of Łódź.
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