title: Half of the children who received oral immunotherapy for a cows' milk allergy consumed milk freely after 2.5 years.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Strict milk protein avoidance has been the standard therapy of cows' milk allergy (CMA) in children, but oral immunotherapy (OIT) seems to provide an alternative treatment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of OIT on milk consumption during the first 2.5 years after a start of OIT.
  
  
  METHODS
  This open-label, noncontrolled, real-life OIT study was conducted in 74 children with CMA, who were aged 5-15. It included a 6-month induction phase and a 2-year maintenance phase. Data on the complete 2.5-year trial were available for 57 children.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most of the children (82%) completed the 6-month induction phase and were able to consume at least 200 mL of milk or 6400 mg of milk protein a day. After the 2-year maintenance phase, half were consuming milk daily. Risk factors for OIT failure during the induction phase were asthma and high milk-specific immunoglobulin E, but a history of anaphylaxis before OIT was not. Allergies to eggs or wheat decreased the risk of immediate OIT failure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study confirmed the efficacy of milk OIT in real life, including the whole spectrum of persistent CMA at school age, and revealed certain risk factors associated with OIT failure.
authors.affiliation: Allergy Centre, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.|Tampere Center for Child Health Research, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.|Center for Allergy Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Juho E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kivistö
authors.affiliation: Tampere Center for Child Health Research, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Matti
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Korppi
authors.affiliation: Science Centre, Pirkanmaa Hospital District and School of Health Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Mika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Helminen
authors.affiliation: Allergy Centre, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Tiina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mäki
authors.affiliation: Allergy Centre, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland.|Tampere Center for Child Health Research, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland.
authors.forename: Marita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paassilta
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000293:Adolescent; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008892:Milk; D016269:Milk Hypersensitivity / Q000628:therapy*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012074:Remission Induction; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Anaphylaxis; Child; Cows' milk allergy; Oral immunotherapy; Risk factor