Secondary Combined Immunodeficiency in Pediatric Patients after the Fontan Operation: Three Case Reports.

The Fontan operation or total cavopulmonal connection (TCPC) is a palliative surgical correction of rare and complex inborn cardiac malformations that are characterized by univentricular circulation. Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) develops in 4-13% of patients after the Fontan procedure. Fontan-related PLE leads to secondary combined immunodeficiency marked by hypogammaglobulinemia and predominantly CD4+ lymphocytopenia.

The Clinical Relevance of Various Hypersensitivity Tests in Patients with Atopic Dermatitis as Assessed by Their History, SCORAD Changes, and Number of Days with Need of Anti-Inflammatory Treatment.

Immediate and delayed hypersensitivity reactions can play a role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). We tested 71 patients (median age 5 years) with AD for hypersensitivity to grass and birch pollen, , and using atopy patch test (APT), skin prick test (SPT), and specific IgE measurement. The sensitivity (SE) and specificity (SP) of the tests were calculated on the basis of personal history of AD exacerbation, clinical AD score (SCORAD) changes, and the number of days with need for topical anti-inflammatory treatment (AITD) in relation to exposure to the allergens being tested.

Both sublingual and supralingual routes of administration are effective in long-term allergen-specific immunotherapy.

The aim of this study was to confirm or refute the difference between efficacy of long-term specific immunotherapy (SIT) with standardized allergen vaccine consisting of six grass pollens (oat grass, orchard grass, fescue, rye grass, timothy grass, and rye) administered either by sublingual or by supralingual route. To investigate clinical and immunologic changes, 51 patients of a previous 1-year double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study were enrolled in an open randomized study that continued over the next 3 years. Sublingual or supralingual immunotherapy (SLIT) was performed in the same way, keeping the drops under or on the tongue, respectively, for 1-2 minutes before swallowing them.