Background Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a treatment option for patients with milk, egg, and peanut allergy, but data on the efficacy and safety of cashew OIT are limited. Methods A cohort of 50 cashew‐allergic patients aged ≥4 years, who were consecutively enrolled into cashew OIT (target dose 4000 mg protein) between 4/2016 and 12/2019. Fifteen cashew‐allergic patients who continued cashew elimination served as observational controls. Co‐allergy to pistachio and walnut was determined. Full desensitization rate and associated immunological changes in both groups were compared. Patients fully desensitized to cashew were instructed to consume a dose of 1200 mg cashew protein for 6 months and were then challenged to a full dose. Patients with co‐allergy to pistachio or walnut were challenged to the respective nut. Results Forty‐four of 50 OIT‐treated patients (88%) compared to 0% in controls tolerated a dose of 4000 mg cashew protein at the end of the study (odds ratio 8.3, 95% CI 3.9–17.7, p < 0.001). An additional three patients were desensitized to 1200 mg cashew protein, and three patients stopped treatment. Three patients (6%) were treated with injectable epinephrine for home reactions. Desensitized patients had decreased SPT, sIgE, basophil reactivity, and increased sIgG4, following treatment. Following cashew desensitization, all pistachio (n = 35) and four of eight walnut co‐allergic patients were cross‐desensitized to the respective nut. All (n = 44) patients consuming a low cashew dose for ≥6 months following desensitization passed a full‐dose cashew OFC. Conclusions Cashew OIT desensitizes most cashew‐allergic patients and cross‐desensitizes to pistachio. Safety is similar to OIT for other foods.

The established risk scoring methods created for Japanese populations with Kawasaki disease were not suitable for predicting IVIG resistance in Caucasian Israeli children, and we were unable to create a specific scoring method that was able to do this.

Background Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is an emerging method for treating food allergy in children. However, data regarding adults undergoing this process are lacking. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of patients with food allergy aged ≥17 years who completed OIT treatment between April 2010 and December 2020 at Shamir Medical Center. Data were compared with that of children aged 4 to <11 years and adolescents aged ≥11 to 17 treated during the same time period. Results A total of 96 adults at a median age of 22.3 years who underwent OIT for milk (n = 53), peanut (n = 18), sesame (n = 7), egg (n = 5), and tree nuts (n = 13) were analyzed and compared with 1299 children and 309 adolescents. Adults experienced more adverse reactions requiring injectable epinephrine, both during in‐clinic up‐dosing (49% vs. 15.9% and 26.5% for children and adolescents, respectively, p < 0.0001) and during home treatment (22.9% vs. 12.4%, p = 0.007 for children, and 17.5%, p = 0.23 for adolescents). Most adults (61.5%) were fully desensitized, but the rates of full desensitization were significantly lower than children (73.4%, p = 0.013). Significantly more adults (28.3%) undergoing milk OIT failed treatment than children (14.3%, p = 0.015) and adolescents (14.1%, p = 0.022), while failure rates in adults undergoing OIT for other foods were low (9.3%) and comparable with children and adolescents. Conclusions OIT is successful in desensitizing most adults with IgE‐mediated food allergy. Adults undergoing milk OIT are at increased risk for severe reactions and for OIT failure while failure rates in adults undergoing OIT for other foods are low.

ObjectivesThis study aims to determine domains of pain interference in daily routines assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory, in relation to multisite musculoskeletal pain among older adults living in the community.DesignThe MOBILIZE Boston Study is a population-based study of 749 adults aged 70 and older.MeasurementsChronic musculoskeletal pain was assessed using a joint pain questionnaire and grouped as: no pain, single-site and multisite pain. The Brief Pain Inventory pain interference (PI) sub-scale assessed level of pain interference (0–10 rating) in 7 domains including general activity, mood, walking, work, relationships with people, sleep, and enjoyment of life. Interference ratings were grouped as: none (0), mild (&gt;0 and ≤ 2), and moderate to severe (&gt;2) PI.ResultsPI was more common among women and those with less education compared to others. Older adults with chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis, depression, spinal stenosis, peripheral artery disease, and asthma/lung disease were more likely than their peers to report PI (p &lt; 0.05). Multisite musculoskeletal pain was strongly associated with pain interference in all domains (p &lt; 0.05). More than half of older adults with multisite musculoskeletal pain reported moderate to severe PI with general activity and walking. The highest prevalence of moderate to severe PI (score &gt;2) in general activity was seen in participants with depression (62%), knee and hand osteoarthritis (71%) and peripheral artery disease (65%).ConclusionGreater attention to PI and PI domains such as general activity and walking, could aid in efforts to reduce the overall impact of multisite musculoskeletal pain among older adults.

Tai chi is known to improve balance and reduce falls in older adults. Yet, little is known about the impact of group tai chi on perceived social support and its relationship with participant self-efficacy and adherence. The current systematic review, guided by Social Cognitive Theory and Successful Aging, includes an overview of tai chi interventions with and without enhancements (e.g., music, mentorship, group practice) that evaluated social support among their outcomes ( N = 10). PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO databases were searched for studies eligible under the inclusion criteria: sample population aged ≥60 years and published between 1999 and 2019. Four articles reported on tai chi interventions with specific enhancements to promote social interaction and reported increased perceived social support ( p < 0.05). Six studies evaluated social support outcomes of tai chi programs without specific modifications to promote social engagement. Four of the six traditional tai chi intervention studies reported improved social support ( p < 0.05). Group tai chi interventions for older adults may increase social support and therefore further increase health benefits of tai chi exercise among this population. [ Research in Gerontological Nursing, 14 (3), 126–137.]