Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy: usage patterns and response to treatment in Qatar over ten years.

Background: IVIg is a blood-derived antibody product initially designed as a replacement therapy in inborn errors of immunity (IEIs). However, over the last 50 years, IVIg has been used to treat a growing range of autoimmune, autoinflammatory, and secondary immunodeficiency disorders. The US FDA has licensed IVIg for use in the treatment of nine clinical indications; although, IVIg global usage extends to off-label indications with variable treatment responses.

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Atopic Dermatitis and Chronic Urticaria Are Underused in Clinical Practice.

Background: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are validated and standardized tools that complement physician evaluations and guide treatment decisions. They are crucial for monitoring atopic dermatitis (AD) and chronic urticaria (CU) in clinical practice, but there are unmet needs and knowledge gaps regarding their use in clinical practice.

Objecctive: We investigated the global real-world use of AD and CU PROMs in allergology and dermatology clinics as well as their associated local and regional networks.

Circulating microRNA signatures in patients with chronic Urticaria.

Chronic Urticaria (CU) is a complex skin disease that appears as recurrent raised itchy rash/angioedema or both for more than six weeks. The pathophysiology of CU is complex and has yet to be understood entirely. It is predominantly a mast cell-driven disease with the possible involvement of type 2 inflammation.

The first case report of complement component 7 deficiency in Qatar and a 10-year follow-up.

Introduction: is a significant cause of bacterial meningitis and septicemia worldwide. Recurrent is frequently associated with terminal complement protein deficiency, including Complement component 7. This report discusses the first case of C7 deficiency in Qatar.

Expert opinion on management of moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis in Qatar.

Atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic-relapsing inflammatory skin disorder, manifests with intense itching and eczematous lesions impairing quality of life. A heterogeneous population, and regional clinical practices for treating AD warrant the development of guidelines in Qatar. Therefore, guidelines for the management of moderate-to-severe AD in Qatar have been developed and discussed.

Severe exercise-induced anaphylaxis in a hot and humid area successfully treated with omalizumab: a case report.

Exercise-induced anaphylaxis (EIA) is a rare disorder in which anaphylaxis occurs exclusively after physical activity. Here, we report a case of severe EIA where anaphylaxis was initially only induced by strenuous exercise. Suddenly the anaphylaxis got out of control to the degree that usual daily activities triggered it.

Anaphylaxis after prick-to-prick skin test to seafood allergy: A rare adverse event.

Allergies to seafood are common all over the world. The prick-to-pricktest is used to diagnose allergic reactions. In this article, a femalepatient suffered an anaphylactic reaction 5 minutes following a Prick-to-Prick skin test.

Sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim induced fixed drug eruption in a patient with Chronic Granulomatous Disease.

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a known Primary immunodeficiency disease that results in recurrent, life-threatening bacterial, fungal infections and granuloma formation which requires lifelong antibacterial and antifungal prophylaxis. Sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim (TMP-SMX/Septrin) is the prophylactic antibacterial drug of choice. Adverse drug reactions, including Fixed Drug Eruption (FDE) to TMP-SMX in CGD patients, are challenging as it may result in serious complications and difficulties in management.

Do we need aerobiological air monitoring in desert climates? The Qatar experience.

Knowledge about diurnal, seasonal, and annual fluctuations in airborne pollen and fungal spores in any geographical area is essential for effective diagnosis and treatment of allergies. Aerobiological analysis enables the detection of airborne pollen and spores, thus providing information on plant phenology, plant distribution, related diseases, and the risks for some species in terms of allergies. Although pollen and fungal spores have been widely studied as aeroallergens throughout the world, not much is known about the biological aerosols in countries with a desert environment; and these could be present in much higher concentrations than expected.

Digital tools in allergy and respiratory care.

Patient care in the allergy and respiratory fields is advancing rapidly, offering the possibility of the inclusion of a variety of digital tools that aim to improve outcomes of care. Impaired access to several health care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic has considerably increased the appetite and need for the inclusion of e-health tools amongst end-users. Consequently, a multitude of different e-health tools have been launched worldwide with various registration and access options, and with a wide range of offered benefits.

Allergic manifestations of inborn errors of immunity and their impact on the diagnosis: A worldwide study.

Background: Allergies have long been observed in Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI) and might even be the first presentation resulting in delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis in some cases. However, data on the prevalence of allergic diseases among IEI patients are limited and contradictory.

Objective: To provide a worldwide view of allergic diseases, across a broad spectrum of IEI, and their impact on the timely diagnosis of IEI.

The correlation between middle schoolchildren allergic symptoms and airborne particle season: A cross-sectional study.

Limited studies correlate allergic symptoms and associated outdoor biological particle exposure among schoolchildren globally.This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the seasonality of symptoms of allergic diseases among middle schoolchildren and the annual variation of airborne pollen and fungal spore in a hot and humid geographical region (Qatar).During November 2017 to January 2018, a self-reported study of middle schoolchildren living in the Doha capital city of Qatar was conducted, and data gathered were evaluated in relation to the collected monthly pollen and fungal spores.

A Retrospective Study of Non-Communicable Diseases amongst Blue-Collar Migrant Workers in Qatar.

South Asian workers have a greater predisposition to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that is exacerbated by migration and length of residence in host countries. To examine the association between length of residence in Qatar with diagnosis of NCDs in male blue-collar workers. A retrospective investigation of the electronic health records (EHRs) of 119,581 clinical visits by 58,342 patients was conducted.

Primary immunodeficiency and the microbiome.

Purpose Of Review: The current understanding of the relationship of the microbiota to clinical manifestation in patients with primary immunodeficiency, specifically the inflammatory processes caused by or that result in microbial dysbiosis, and their potential therapeutic options in primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID), is the basis of this review.

Recent Findings: PIDs are heterogeneous diseases with variable presentations, genetic backgrounds, complications, and severity. The immune-mediators may be extrinsic, such as therapeutic regimens that patients are on, including immunoglobin, biologics, antibiotics and diet, or intrinsic, like cytokines, microRNA and microbiome.

In vitro Interleukin-7 treatment partially rescues MAIT cell dysfunction caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection.

MAIT cells have been shown to be activated upon several viral infections in a TCR-independent manner by responding to inflammatory cytokines secreted by antigen-presenting cells. Recently, a few studies have shown a similar activation of MAIT cells in response to severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. In this study, we investigate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the frequency and phenotype of MAIT cells by flow cytometry, and we test in vitro stimulation conditions on the capacity to enhance or rescue the antiviral function of MAIT cells from patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Performance evaluation of five ELISA kits for detecting anti-SARS-COV-2 IgG antibodies.

Objectives: To evaluate and compare the performances of five commercial ELISA assays (EDI, AnshLabs, Dia.Pro, NovaTec, and Lionex) for detecting anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG.

Methods: Seventy negative control samples (collected before the COVID-19 pandemic) and samples from 101 RT-PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 patients (collected at different time points from symptom onset: ≤7, 8-14 and >14 days) were used to compare the sensitivity, specificity, agreement, and positive and negative predictive values of each assay with RT-PCR.

The association between airborne pollen monitoring and sensitization in the hot desert climate.

Background: Pollen is a major cause of allergic respiratory diseases. In Qatar, data on the presence and prevalence of allergenic airborne types of pollen is quite limited.

Methods: The study aimed to determine and correlate the most frequently implicated airborne pollen detected by aerobiological monitoring samplers in respiratory allergy symptoms.

Etiology and outcome of hemoptysis in Qatar, a high-resource country with a large expatriate population: A retrospective study.

Hemoptysis is an alarming symptom in clinical practice. We reviewed ten years of experience with hemoptysis in a tertiary hospital in Qatar to identify hemoptysis etiologies, patient characteristics, and associated factors. Hemoptysis was defined based on severity as mild ( < 50 ml or streaks of blood), moderate (50-150 ml) and massive (>150 ml) in the 24 hours before admission.

A Novel Mutation in a Qatari Patient With Hyper-IgE Syndrome.

Autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome caused by mutations in the transcription factor STAT3 (AD-HIES) is characterized by a collection of immunologic and non-immune features including eczema, recurrent infections, elevated IgE levels, and connective tissue anomalies. We report the case of a Qatari child with a history of recurrent staphylococcal skin infections since infancy, who was found to have a novel, mutation in STAT3 (c.1934T>A, p.

Anaphylaxis triggers in a large tertiary care hospital in Qatar: a retrospective study.

Background: Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic disease that may lead to death if not immediately recognized and treated. Triggers of anaphylaxis including food, drugs, and insect stings can vary widely. The incidence of anaphylaxis seems to be affected by age, sex, atopy, and geographic location.