title: Oral and sublingual immunotherapy for egg allergy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Clinical egg allergy is a common food allergy. Current management relies upon strict allergen avoidance. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) might be an optional treatment, through desensitization to egg allergen.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We aimed to assess the successful desensitization and development of tolerance to egg protein and the safety of egg oral and sublingual immunotherapy in children and adults with immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated egg allergy as compared to a placebo treatment or an avoidance strategy.
  
  
  METHODS
  We searched 13 databases for journal articles, conference proceedings, theses and unpublished trials using a combination of subject headings and text words (the last search was on 5 December 2013).
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. All age groups with clinical egg allergy were to be included.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrieved 83 studies from the electronic searches. We selected studies, extracted data and assessed the methodological quality. We attempted to contact the study investigators to obtain the unpublished data, wherever possible. We used the I² statistic to assess statistical heterogeneity. We estimated a pooled risk ratio (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for each outcome using a Mantel-Haenzel fixed-effect model if statistical heterogeneity was low (I² value less than 50%).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We included four RCTs with a total of 167 recruited individuals (OIT 100; control 67 participants), all of whom were children (aged four to 15 years). One study used a placebo and three studies used an avoidance diet as the control. Each study used a different OIT protocol. Thirty nine per cent of OIT participants were able to tolerate a full serving of egg compared to 11.9% of the controls (RR 3.39, 95% CI 1.74 to 6.62). Forty per cent of OIT participants could ingest a partial serving of egg (1 g to 7.5 g; RR 5.73, 95% CI 3.13 to 10.50). Sixty nine per cent of the participants presented with mild-to-severe adverse effects (AEs) during OIT (RR 6.06, 95% CI 3.11 to 11.83). Five of the 100 participants receiving OIT required epinephrine. We cannot comment on whether over- or under-reporting of AEs was a concern based on the available data. Overall there was inconsistent methodological rigour in the trials.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The studies were small and the quality of evidence was low. Current evidence suggests that OIT can desensitize a large number of egg-allergic patients, although it remains unknown whether long-term tolerance develops. A major difficulty of OIT is the frequency of AEs, though these are usually mild and self-limiting. The use of epinephrine while on OIT seems infrequent. There are no standardized protocols for OIT and guidelines would be required prior to incorporating desensitization into clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Largo Gaslini 5, Genoa, Italy, 16147.
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Romantsik
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bruschettini
authors.forename: Maria Angela
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tosca
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zappettini
authors.forename: Ornella
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Della Casa Alberighi
authors.forename: Maria Grazia
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Calevo
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D021181:Egg Hypersensitivity / Q000628:therapy*; D015387:Egg Proteins, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000276:immunology; D004837:Epinephrine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D063729:Sublingual Immunotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D015387:Egg Proteins, Dietary; D007073:Immunoglobulin E; D004837:Epinephrine