Oral immunotherapy for IgE-mediated cow’s milk allergy in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Cow’s milk allergy(CMA) is the most common allergy in infants that decreases the quality of life of patients and their families. Standard treatment for CMA is the strict avoidance of milk, new treatment strategies such as oral immunotherapy (OIT) have been sought for patients with CMA . We aimed to assess the clinical efficacy and safety of OIT in the treatment of children with IgE-mediated cow’s milk allergy (IMCMA). Methods: We searched all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which OIT is used to treat children with IMCMA from 5 international electronic databases. We estimated a pooled relative ratio (RR) for each outcome using a Mantel-Haenzel fixed-effect model if statistical heterogeneity was low. Results: Eleven studies were chosen for meta-analysis, including a total of 469 children (242 OIT, 227 control). 176 patients (72.7%) in the OIT were desensitized compared to 49 patients in the control group (RR 7.35, 95%CI 2.82-19.13, p<0.0001). The desensitization effect of OIT was particularly significant in children over 3 years old (RR 18.05, 95%CI 6.48-50.26, p<0.00001). Although adverse effects were common, they usually involved mild reactions, but epinephrine use was more common in the OIT group (RR 7.69, 95%CI 2.16-27.33, p<0.002). Conclusion: OIT can lead to desensitization in the majority of individuals with IMCMA, especially in patients over 3-years old. A major problem of OIT is the frequency of adverse events, although most are mild. OIT may be an alternative treatment in the future.