Acquired IgE-mediated food allergy after liver transplantation in children

Background: In recent years, the number of studies regarding newly-diagnosed food allergies after liver transplantation has been increasing. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency, transplantation in children. Methods: Paediatric patients who underwent liver transplantation at Inonu University Faculty of Medicine, Organ Transplantation Institute were included in the study. Results: Forty-nine paediatric patients were enrolled in the study; 26 (53.1%) were female, the median age at transplantation was five years, and median follow-up time after transplantation was 16 months. Six patients (12.2%) developed IgE-mediated food allergies after transplantation; four had urticaria and/or angio-oedema and two developed anaphylaxis after food intake. Patients with and without IgE-mediated disease, immunosuppressant therapy with tacrolimus, and blood tacrolirnus level (p > 0.05 for each). Serum total IgE levels >= 100 IU/mL (p = 0.02) and peripheral eosinophilia (p = 0.026) were more common in the patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies. In five of the six patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies, reaction occurred within the first year after transplantation; the risk of developing a reaction was 2.7 times higher within the first year after transplantation than in subsequent years (95% CI, 1.546-4.914; p=0.026). No Epstein-Barr virus or cytomegalovirus infections were detected in any of the patients who developed IgE-mediated food allergies after liver transplantation. Conclusion: The risk of developing IgE-mediated food allergies is approximately three times higher within the first year after transplantation than in subsequent years. (C) 2014 SEICAP Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. All rights reserved.