Vaccination of patients with allergic disease against novel coronavirus infection: Position paper of the russian association of allergology and clinical immunology

One of the key tasks of the previous year is to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which became a pandemic that led to the deaths of more than 4 million people worldwide and more than 140 thousand deaths in Russia. COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (2019-nCoV) virus of the coro-navirus family. Vaccination plays a leading role in ending the pandemic. Currently, five vaccines against COVID-19 have been registered in Russia, namely, Sputnik V, Sputnik light, EpiVacCorona, EpiVacCorona-H, and SoviVak. The short follow-up period and absence of randomized placebo-controlled trials of COVID-19 vaccines in certain patients with chronic diseases lead to several questions about the effectiveness/safety of vaccination in these patients. Given the wide spread of allergic diseases and the heterogeneity of patients with allergopathology, experts of the Russian Association of Allergology and Clinical Immunology have developed and approved a position paper on vaccination of patients with allergopathology.Copyright © 2020 Pharmarus Print Media.

Vaccination of patients with allergic disease against novel coronavirus infection: Position paper of the russian association of allergology and clinical immunology

One of the key tasks of the previous year is to stop the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which became a pandemic that led to the deaths of more than 4 million people worldwide and more than 140 thousand deaths in Russia. COVID-19 is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (2019-nCoV) virus of the coro-navirus family. Vaccination plays a leading role in ending the pandemic. Currently, five vaccines against COVID-19 have been registered in Russia, namely, Sputnik V, Sputnik light, EpiVacCorona, EpiVacCorona-Н, and СoviVak. The short follow-up period and absence of randomized placebo-controlled trials of COVID-19 vaccines in certain patients with chronic diseases lead to several questions about the effectiveness/safety of vaccination in these patients. Given the wide spread of allergic diseases and the heterogeneity of patients with allergopathology, experts of the Russian Association of Allergology and Clinical Immunology have developed and approved a position paper on vaccination of patients with allergopathology. © 2020 Pharmarus Print Media.

Allergic rhinitis during a coronavirus pandemic: Difficulties of diagnosis and features of therapy

Rhinitis can be of various etiologies. More often it is an infectious process (bacterial, viral) or clinical manifestations of an immedi-ate allergic reaction. Other factors that provoke the development of rhinitis, for example, irritating substances, a number of drugs, hormonal imbalance, neurovegetative dysfunction, viruses are known. Doctors of various specialties are familiar with allergic rhi-nitis (AR) in their practice. In a number of cases there can be some difficulties in the differential diagnosis of rhinitis, the correct diagnosis and the appointment of adequate therapy. The COVID-19 epidemic (“coronavirus disease 2019”) has already been imprinted in the global history as an emergency of international importance. Scientific medical communities continue to study the characteristics of this epidemic, which is regarded by WHO as a pandemic. In a short period (from January 2020), there has been accumulated enough information about the etiology, features of the clinical manifestations of this disease, diagnostic methods have been developed, and clinical approaches and treatment regimens continue to be developed. The pandemic coincided with successive pollen seasons of trees, grasses and weeds. At the beginning of the pollen season, doctors were concerned about the possible difficulty in differential diagnosis of allergic rhinitis, manifestations of coronavirus and other viral infections. In the process of monitoring patients, more and more data has been accumulated, indicating the features of the clinical characteristics of COVID-19, influenza, acute respiratory infections, seasonal allergic rhinitis (rhinoconjunctivitis). Undoubtedly, information is still being accu-mulating and enriching day by day. AR is not only the most common form of rhinitis, but one of the most common diseases in children and adults. It is known about the pronounced negative effect of AR symptoms on the patient’s quality of life: normal daily activity, cognitive functions, mood, sleep. The severity of AR symptoms varies from minimal clinical manifestations to severe. Therapy should be directed towards the general control of AR symptoms. Over the past decades, the concept of phenotyping (definition of a disease by its clinical manifestations) and endotyping (based on the pathobiological mechanisms of the disease) has been developed. The belonging of AR in a particular patient to a certain phenotype plays a key role in choosing the most effective therapy and requires a personalized approach to treatment. The article provides frequently asked questions regarding AR treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of intranasal corticosteroids (InHCS), which are the most effective drugs in AR therapy, is discussed, due to their pronounced anti-inflammatory effect and influence on all stages of the pathogenesis of the disease. Mometasone furoate nasal spray has the widest indications among all InHCS drugs registered in our country. © 2020, Remedium Group Ltd. All rights reserved.

Statement on management of children with allergic diseases during new coronaviral infection SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (COVID-19 infection)

The COVID-19 infection caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has become the real pandemic. Children account for 1-6% of all diagnosed COVID-19 cases. Generally, children have mild disease in comparison to adults, and their mortality rates are extremely low. Despite the fact that all the main efforts of the medical and political community are now focused on preventing the pandemic spread and organizing medical care for patients with moderate and severe COVID-19 course, we still have to remember to implement adequate help for patients with chronic diseases, especially for children with allergic diseases. The pandemic period coincided with natural weather period of dusting of causative plants, that led to annual escalation of both allergic rhinitis and asthma in patient group with specific sensitization to tree pollen. Leading experts of allergology (adapting to modern conditions) have created key guidelines on management of children with allergic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic. These guidelines are based on the data and results from the Union of Pediatricians of Russia, Russian Association of Allergologists and Clinical Immunologists, European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), European Respiratory Society (ERS), American Thoracic Society (ATS), Global Strategy for Asthma Management (GINA), Initiative on Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA/MACVIA).