A new score to predict allergic march in patients with IgE-mediated cow milk allergy.

Abstract

Background: Cow milk allergy (CMA) is the most common food allergy in infants. Some patients will express, in the future, other allergic diseases (allergic march). Objective: To evaluate if a new scoring system could determine the risk of developing allergic march. Methods: A retrospective observational cohort study of subjects who were immunoglobulin E (IgE) mediated was conducted. We defined a risk score for atopy (RSA), including clinical and laboratory variables. Three risk groups were defined according to the RSA. We defined as dependent variables atopy (one or more allergic diseases) and atopy+ (two or more allergic diseases). A multivariate logistic regression model was created, which included RSA and the type of formula (high-grade extended hydrolyzed formula [EHF] with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG), high-grade EHF without LGG, and other formulas). Results: A total of 211 patients were recruited. When we analyzed the risk of atopy+, we found an increased risk for RSA intermediate-risk (odds ratio [OR 2.08] [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.95-4.56) and high-risk (OR 24.74 [95% CI, 6.26-97.73]) groups, and a decreased risk for the subjects fed with high-grade EHF (OR 0.42 [95% CI, 0.20-0.87]) and also in those subjects fed with high-grade EHF plus LGG (OR 0.30 [95% CI, 0.09-0.98]). Conclusion: RSA is a simple and useful tool to predict the risk of developing other allergic diseases in patients with IgE-mediated CMA.