چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background: Hen's egg (HE) allergy develops during infancy. We investigated tolerance acquisition in
Japanese children allergic to HE aging <6 years.
Methods: In this retrospective study, 226 children born in 2005 with a history of immediate-type HE
allergy underwent an oral food challenge (OFC). Tolerance was defined as no reaction to an OFC with half
of whole heated HE or accidental HE consumption at home. Participants were divided into three groups
based on age at tolerance acquisition: group I (<3 years) (n ¼ 66), group II (3e6 years) (n ¼ 98), and
group III (prolonged allergic groups) (n ¼ 62).
Results: Tolerance acquisition occurred in 30% (66/226) by 3 years of age, 59% (133/226) by 5 years of age,
and 73% (164/226) at 6 years of age. At 3 years, incidences of allergy-related complications (bronchial
asthma, p ¼ 0.02; atopic dermatitis, p ¼ 0.04) were higher in the group III than in the group I.
Anaphylaxis to any food occurred more frequently in the group III than in the group I (p ¼ 0.03);
anaphylaxis to HE was more common in the group III (p ¼ 0.04). Egg white (EW)- and ovomucoid (OM)-
specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels were higher in the group III than in the group I (p < 0.05).
Conclusions: The group III experienced HE-related anaphylaxis and complications more frequently and
exhibited sustained, high EW- and OM-specific IgE levels.