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Background: Oral food challenges (OFCs) assist in the diagnosis of food allergies and are essential to determine whether an allergy has been outgrown. During the OFC, a medical procedure e introduces foods suspected to be allergenic orally in increasing doses. Mild skin reactions such as urticaria or rarely serious life-threatening reactions such as anaphylaxis may develop.Objective: In this study, we aimed to retrospectively evaluate the clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients who experienced anaphylaxis during open OFCs in a tertiary care children's hospital.Methods: Patients who underwent OFCs to confirm the presence of a food allergy or to assess tolerance status at the University of Health Sciences, Ankara, Dr. Sami Ulus Maternity and Children Training and Research Hospital, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Outpatient Clinic between 1 January 2013 and 1 February 2016, were included in the study. Patients' data were obtained retrospectively from electronic medical records and challenge chart reviews.Results: A total of 623 OFCs were performed during the period studied. Nine patients (1.4%) between 13 and 67 months of age (mean age: 38.3 months) developed anaphylaxis during their OFC.Conclusion: OFCs should be performed in a hospital or outpatient office under medical supervision that is adequate for anaphylaxis intervention by an allergy specialist. Close observation of objective and subjective symptoms is essential during the challenge because there are no laboratory tests that can predict an anaphylactic diagnosis or the severity of the reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. It is difficult to determine if preschool children with recurrent wheezing are suffering from asthma or will suffer from asthma in the future. The aim of this study was to investigate the prognosis and risk factors of recurrent wheezing in children, beginning in the first 3 years of life. Method. Children who were referred because of recurrent wheezing episodes during the first 3 years of life were evaluated for the presence of asthma over a 4-year period. A child without any symptoms within the last 12 months was considered to be in remission. Results. The study included 529 (male/female: 2.17) children with a median (inter-quartile) age of 0.6 years (0.3-1.0) at symptom onset. The median follow-up and symptom durations were 2.93 years (1.74-4.76) and 4.30 years (2.91-5.97), respectively. Remission/recovery was achieved in 1.7%, 8.0%, and 14.4% of the children within 12, 24, and 36 months, respectively. A negative 'stringent asthma predictive index' (API) significantly shortened the time to recovery of wheezing compared to the positive API ( p = .036). Maternal smoking during pregnancy (OR = 4.35; 95% CI = 1.29-14.63); p = .018) and the number of emergency room admissions within the first 3 years of life (OR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.01-1.19); p = .031) were found to be independent risk factors for the persistence of wheezing symptoms. Conclusion. Most of the children who were referred with frequent wheezing remain symptomatic 3 years after the initial wheezing episodes. A negative API is related to a shorter wheezing duration. Maternal smoking during pregnancy and the severity of the wheezing episodes appeared to be significant risk factors for the persistence of wheezing symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]