Reducing the frequency of maintenance dosing of peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) in children after 1 year of therapy did not reduce sustained unresponsiveness in children studied. This was among the study findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) 2022 Annual Meeting, held in Phoenix, Arizona.

This clinical trial of peanut-allergic children who had undergone 12 months of peanut OIT was designed to evaluate sustained unresponsiveness (SU) levels and symptom thresholds in children who had halted OIT for 4 weeks. Participants were recruited from the Boiled Peanut Oral Immunotherapy study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02149719) of 47 children, (aged 8 to 17 years, 43% female) 18 of whom showed a peanut protein tolerance equal to or greater than 1.44 grams at 12 months of OIT. For these 18 participants, regular dosing was then stopped for 4 weeks, SU reassessed, unchanged. Then, regular dosing continued at a reduced frequency (3-5 times per week) for an additional 12 to 24 months for these 18 participants. An additional 8 children showed the 4-week SU unchanged at 24-36 months of OIT.

After the additional 12 months of reduced frequency dosing, the children’s 4-week SU was again assessed, and researchers found no change in the peanut dose triggering subjective or objective symptoms.

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Researchers concluded that, “Despite a reduction in frequency of maintenance dosing after 1 year, there was no reduction in clinical efficacy.” Researchers suggested that patients and their families may prefer the less frequent dosing after 1 year of OIT as long as it does not compromise efficacy.

Reference

Turner P, Darbar R, Shamji M, Campbell D, Patel N. Longer duration of peanut oral immunotherapy at a reduced dosing frequency increases the rate of sustained unresponsiveness without reducing clinical efficacy. Presented at: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) 2022 Annual Meeting; February 25–28, 2022; Phoenix, AZ. Abstract 421.

This article originally appeared on Pulmonology Advisor

Topics:

Allergies Allergy & Immunology Pediatrics