Food allergy and asthma.
Food allergy and asthma commonly co-exist in the same patient with approximately one-third of children with food allergy having asthma. When both atopic conditions are present a food allergic patient is placed at greater risk of having a fatal reaction from food allergen exposure. For this reason asthma should be diligently managed in a food allergic patient and these patients should be carefully instructed on allergen avoidance and the proper use of self-injectable epinephrine. This review summarises the available literature regarding patients with both food allergy and asthma specifically looking at disease prevalence, IgE-mediated effects on the lower respiratory tract secondary to foods, the interplay of food additives and asthma, and food allergy as a risk factor for asthma morbidity with practical applications for clinicians.
Bird
J Andrew
JA
Department of Pediatrics, Duke University Medical Center, North Carolina 27710, USA. john.bird@duke.edu
Burks
A Wesley
AW
D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011320:Primary Health Care