We report on trends in anaphylaxis admissions in the Spanish hospital system during the period 1998-2011. Data on admissions for anaphylaxis were obtained from the Spanish Information System for Hospital Data for the period 1998-2011. Patients were selected using the codes for anaphylaxis in the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM). Poisson regression models were used to estimate incidence rate ratios. We recorded a 1.89-fold increase in admissions for anaphylaxis in Spanish hospitals during the study period, particularly in patients aged 0-14 years (1.65- to 3.22-fold until 2009 and 4.09- to 12.59-fold until 2011) and in food anaphylaxis in all age groups (2.78-fold until 2009 and 8.74-fold until 2011). The incidence of anaphylaxis is perceived as having increased in recent years, especially anaphylaxis caused by food and anaphylaxis affecting the pediatric population.

We found two sets of IgE-binding peptides that can be used as novel biomarkers to predict the safety and efficacy of CM-OIT before starting treatment.

Simple blind oral challenge with implicated drug followed by home treatment is required for a conclusive diagnosis of allergy in patients with delayed reactions to betalactams.

Background: The double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) is considered the definitive diagnostic test for food allergy. Nevertheless, validated recipes for masking the foods are scarce, have not been standardized, and differ between centers. Sensory evaluation techniques such as the triangle test are necessary to validate the recipes used for DBPCFC. Methods: We developed 3 recipes for use in DBPCFC with milk, egg white, and hazelnut and used the triangle test to validate them in a 2-phase study in which 197 volunteers participated. In each phase, participants tried 3 samples (2 active-1 placebo or 2 placebo-1 active) and had to identify the odd one. In phase 1, the 3 samples were given simultaneously, whereas in phase 2, the 3 samples of foods that failed validation in phase 1 were given sequentially. A visual analog scale (VAS) ranging from 1 to 10 was used to evaluate how much participants liked the recipes. Results: In phase 1, the egg white recipe was validated (n=89 volunteers, 38.9% found the odd sample, P=.16). Milk and hazelnut recipes were validated in phase 2 (for both foods, n=30 participants, 36.7% found the odd sample, P=.36). Median VAS scores for the 3 recipes ranged from 6.6 to 9.7. Conclusions: We used sensory testing to validate milk, egg white, and hazelnut recipes for use in DBPCFC. The validated recipes are easy to prepare in a clinical setting, provide the equivalent of 1 serving dose, and were liked by most participants.