Oral immunotherapy (OIT) using boiled, followed by roasted, peanuts is feasible and safe for treating children with peanut allergy, according to a study published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy. Luke E. Grzeskowiak, PhD, and colleagues examined the efficacy and safety of OIT for treating peanut allergy in children using sequential doses of boiled peanuts followed by roasted peanuts. Seventy children aged 6-18 with a positive history of peanut allergy underwent OIT involving sequential up-dosing with 12-hour boiled peanuts for 12 weeks, 2-hour boiled peanuts for 20 weeks, and roasted peanuts for 20 weeks to a target maintenance dose of 12 peanuts/day. Desensitization was successfully induced in 80% of participants. Three participants withdrew due to treatment-related adverse events; 61% of participants experienced treatment-related adverse events, for a rate of 6.58 per 1,000 OIT doses. Medication use was infrequent in association with treatment-related adverse events, with 4% reporting rescue epinephrine use (0.05 per 1,000 OIT doses).
