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Allergy Patient Management
Once your patient has received a detailed clinical evaluation, and the appropriate tests to determine their individual sensitizations, you can begin to piece together an allergy management plan tailored to their specific needs.
This approach will continue to be the mainstay in the majority of allergy patients, though some children may outgrow certain allergies. To continue ensuring the plan is tailored to your patient’s needs, regular testing for specific sensitizations can help you refine the plan as needed.1
Consider testing with allergen components to help optimize allergy management in patients with:
ONE PATIENT, MULTIPLE ALLERGIES: TAILORED CARE IS ESSENTIAL
In allergic diseases, improvement in overall quality of life, coupled with symptom reduction, should be considered the hallmarks of treatment success. Creating a plan to do so, however, may not be as straight forward.
Between 60-80% of patients seeking relief from specialists for symptoms of allergic diseases are polysensitized, resulting in multiple allergies and individualized manifestations to consider when undertaking treatment.2 It is critical to utilize specific IgE test results, which can help identify exactly which allergens or allergen components your patient is sensitized to. From there, the most effective treatment and monitoring strategy can be initialized.
Subsequent to the identification of your patient’s allergen sensitization you may consider3,4
- Controlling the allergy load by providing advice on allergen- exposure reduction
- Targeted medicine—e.g. seasonal antihistamines—depending on the patient's specific sensitizations
- Allergen-specific immunotherapy
PATIENT EDUCATION: COMMUNICATION IS KEY
An incorrect diagnosis and resulting treatment can lead to the exacerbation of symptoms, which may result in a patient straying from their proposed treatment plan. Referral to a dietician may also be beneficial for patients who need to eliminate or replace foods due to food allergies. Ensure that your patients are given a comprehensive overview, in the form of an allergy or asthma action plan, on how to best manage their symptoms.
2.1 fewer
unscheduled visits per year
(13.6%)
21.3 fewer
days with symptoms per year (19.5%)
4.4 fewer
missed school days per year
(20.7%)
Once a patient has been made aware of their personal allergic triggers, it is vital that they persevere with allergen exposure reduction as a primary means of management. If a patient fails to commit to their exposure reduction plan, dissatisfaction may result, leading to decreased compliance and increased reliance on non-prescribed over the counter products. Management plans should target all potential allergens, and be fully comprehensive to increase patient compliance. Highlighting the importance of continued dedication to exposure reduction in daily life may better enable patients to see the impact on their symptoms as a result.
Taking the Next Step - Using Testing With Allergen Components to Personalize Care
Patients who have displayed a history of allergic reactions, and have been tested for allergen sensitization may benefit further from testing with allergen components for a more precise diagnosis. The identification of sensitization to allergen components can allow you to correctly identify exactly which sensitizations are triggering reactions, and therefore assess a patient's risk of severe allergic reactions versus their risk of a cross-reactive reaction. Using allergen components and component resolved diagnostics can help keep your patients on a path to achieving the goals of improvement in overall quality of life and a reduction in symptoms. Testing with allergen components may also guide your decision about which patients are appropriate candidates for successful allergen immunotherapy.
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE). https://www.foodallergy.org/common-allergens/egg. Accessed December 2017.
Demoly P, Passalacqua G, Pfaar O, et al. Management of the polyallergic patient with allergy immunotherapy: a practice-based approach. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2016;12:2.
Scadding GK. Optimal management of allergic rhinitis. Arch Dis Child. 2015;100(6):576-582.
Bousquet J, Dhivert H, Michel FB. Current trends in the management of allergic diseases. Allergy. 1994;49(18 Suppl):31-36.
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