0000000000768307
AUTHOR
Simona La Piana
showing 11 related works from this author
Analysis of a database to predict the result of allergy testing in vivo in patients with chronic nasal symptoms.
2014
Background This article uses the logistic regression model for diagnostic decision making in patients with chronic nasal symptoms. We studied the ability of the logistic regression model, obtained by the evaluation of a database, to detect patients with positive allergy skin-prick test (SPT) and patients with negative SPT. The model developed was validated using the data set obtained from another medical institution. Methods The analysis was performed using a database obtained from a questionnaire administered to the patients with nasal symptoms containing personal data, clinical data, and results of allergy testing (SPT). All variables found to be significantly different between patients w…
The effect of allergen immunotherapy in the onset of new sensitizations: a meta-analysis
2017
Background Although the preventive efficacy of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in the onset of new allergen sensitizations has been asserted by many reviews, position papers, and consensus conferences, the evidence available is from only 3 studies. The objective of this work was a systematic review to evaluate the preventive efficacy of AIT in the onset of new allergen sensitizations. The end-point was the risk difference (RD) in the onset of new allergen sensitizations between patients treated with AIT and pharmacotherapy. Methods Computerized bibliographic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (until November 30th, 2016) were done. Random-effects and fixed-effects model meta-…
Efficacy of subcutaneous and sublingual immunotherapy with grass allergens for seasonal allergic rhinitis: a meta-analysis–based comparison
2012
Background: Subcutaneous (SCIT) and sublingual (SLIT) immunotherapy are the 2 most prescribed routes for administering allergen-specific immunotherapy. They were shown to be effective in control of symptoms and in reducing rescue medication use in patients with allergic diseases, but their effectiveness has to be balanced against side effects. In recent years, SLIT has been increasingly prescribed, instead of SCIT, because of improved safety and easy administration. Objective: We assessed which route is the most effective in the treatment of patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis to grass pollen. Methods: An indirect meta-analysis–based comparison between SCIT and SLIT was performed. Trea…
Assessment of a qualitative serological assay to screen for allergic sensitization in elderly subjects
2013
We used a commercially available specific IgE qualitative serological assay to screen for allergic sensitization. Two hundred twenty-eight elderly subjects took part in the study. Skin-prick tests (SPTs) to a panel of relevant aeroallergens present in the study area were used as the diagnostic reference procedure (gold standard). Subjects with at least one positive SPT (≥3 mml n = 76) were considered to have developed an allergic sensitization. The qualitative assay correctly classified subjects as sensitized to an allergen or not sensitized in 257 of 288 cases (accuracy, 88.9%; 95% CI, 85.0-92.0%). The qualitative assay sensitivity was 70.0 (95% CI, 58.1-79.7) and specificity was 95.7 (95%…
Allergic Asthma and Aging
2012
Gabriele Di Lorenzo1, Danilo Di Bona2,3, Simona La Piana2, Vito Ditta4 and Maria Stefania Leto-Barone1 1Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (DIMIS), Universita degli Studi di Palermo 2Dipartimento di Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche e Forensi, Universita degli Studi di Palermo 3Unita Operativa di Immunoematologia e Medicina Trasfusionale, Azienda Ospedaliera, Universitaria Policlinico di Palermo 4Centro Trasfusionale ASPPalermo. P.O. San Raffaele G. Giglio Cefalu, Palermo Italia
Differences and Similarities between Allergic and Nonallergic Rhinitis in a Large Sample of Adult Patients with Rhinitis Symptoms
2010
<i>Background:</i> Allergic rhinitis (AR) and nonallergic rhinitis (NAR) may present with different clinical and laboratory characteristics. <i>Methods:</i> A total of 1,511 consecutive patients, aged 18–81 years, diagnosed with rhinitis, 56% females and 44% males, underwent complete allergic evaluation including skin prick test, blood eosinophil counts, nasal eosinophil counts, peak nasal inspiratory flow (PNIF) measurement and evaluation of nasal symptoms using a visual analog scale (VAS). <i>Results:</i> A total of 1,107 patients (73%)had AR, whereas 404 (27%) had NAR. Patients with NAR were older and predominantly female. A higher nasal eosinophils co…
Efficacy of Grass Pollen Allergen Sublingual Immunotherapy Tablets for Seasonal Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
2015
IMPORTANCE: Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and meta-analyses of sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (SARC) have shown a modest clinical benefit compared with placebo. Furthermore, indirect comparison by meta-analyses showed that subcutaneous immunotherapy is more effective than SLIT. Despite these data, SLIT has become the most prescribed treatment of SARC in Europe in recent years, and it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of SARC to grass pollen in the United States on April 1, 2014. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of the grass pollen sublingual tablets licensed as drugs in the treatm…
Comparison between statistical and fuzzy approaches for improving diagnostic decision making in patients with chronic nasal symptoms
2014
This paper compares a fuzzy model, expressed in rule-form, with a well known statistical approach (i.e. logistic regression model) for diagnostic decision making in patients with chronic nasal symptoms. The analyses were carried out using a database obtained from a questionnaire administered to 1359 patients with nasal symptoms containing personal data, clinical data and skin prick test (SPT) results. Both the fuzzy model and the logistic regression model developed were validated using a data set obtained from another medical institution. The accuracy of the two models in identifying patients with positive or negative SPT was similar. This study is a preliminary step to the creation of a so…
Wirksamkeit von sublingualen Gräserpollentabletten bei saisonaler allergischer Rhinitis – eine systematische Übersicht und Metaanalyse
2015
immunology
Clinical course of rhinitis and changes in vivo and in vitro of allergic parameters in elderly patients: a long-term follow-up study
2012
Changes in rhinitis symptom severity tend to decrease with aging, but whether the decrease is associated with allergic skin test reactivity, serum total and specific IgE, and nasal eosinophils or determined only by aging is poorly understood. The aim of the study was to analyze sensitivity in vivo and in vitro some 15 years after primary testing, skin prick test (SPT), serum total and specific IgE, ratio sIgE/tIgE, and nasal eosinophils in order to evaluate changes due to age and changes due to the severity of rhinitis symptoms. One hundred and eight rhinitis patients who had been investigated in 1995 were re-interviewed and their current allergy re-assessed after a follow-up of 15 years. A…
The effect of allergen immunotherapy in the onset of new sensitizations: a meta-analysis.
2017
Background Although the preventive efficacy of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in the onset of new allergen sensitizations has been asserted by many reviews, position papers, and consensus conferences, the evidence available is from only 3 studies. The objective of this work was a systematic review to evaluate the preventive efficacy of AIT in the onset of new allergen sensitizations. The end-point was the risk difference (RD) in the onset of new allergen sensitizations between patients treated with AIT and pharmacotherapy. Methods Computerized bibliographic searches of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library (until November 30th, 2016) were done. Random-effects and fixed-effects model meta-…