051 Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs act as adjuvant in allergic sensitization

Abstract

Atopic disease, including asthma, food allergies and atopic dermatitis, are on the rise. Concurrently, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is also growing resulting in 30 billion American doses yearly. NSAIDs, which inhibit cyclooxygenase enzymes (COX) have been associated with worse allergic diseases and is thought to exacerbate allergic inflammation by shunting arachidonic acid metabolism towards leukotriene synthesis. We hypothesize that NSAIDs possess adjuvant properties and are sufficient to induce allergic sensitization, and thus may partially explain the exponential increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases.