Experiences and attitudes of parents of children with cow's milk and other food-allergy.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The attitude and behaviors of parents are important in the management of children with food allergy (FA). The aim of this study is to evaluate the experiences and attitudes of parents of children with allergy to cow's milk and other FA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The parents of children with FA were asked to complete an 18-item questionnaire to evaluate the FA history and experiences during diagnosis, treatment, and follow up. RESULTS: The data from 558 (91.2%) survey questionnaire that were filled completely were analyzed. The mean age of the parents was 33.4+4.9. It was found that most common food allergen was cow's milk (85.3%). The mean time to diagnosis from the onset of symptoms was 10.9±18.4 months. Around 229 parents (41.6%) admitted to at least four different physicians and 68 (12.3%) parents admitted to at least five different physicians before diagnosis. The median time to diagnosis from the onset of symptoms was five (1-108) months in the patients admitted to four or more physicians, but it was one (1-48) month in the patients that admitted to less physicians (p˂0.001). The most common symptoms were dermatitis and mucus-bloody stool, the least common ones were cardiovascular symptoms. Only 21.1% of the patients were able to use hypoallergenic formulas (HAF) in accordance with the recommendation of the physician. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed diagnosis of FA is a major concern, and during this period the patients admit many physicians. A majority of the patients with CMPA experience difficulties while using HAFs, and only one-fifth of them is able to use formula regularly.

Treatment Options for Cow's Milk Protein Allergy: A Modeling Analysis.

PURPOSE: Cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) is one of the most common food allergies in early childhood. We aimed to evaluate clinical and economic outcomes of the amino-acid formula (AAF) and extensively hydrolyzed formula (eHF) based treatment of CMPA by using data available from Turkey and otherwise from literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A theoretical model was developed to evaluate AAF and eHF for CMPA treatment in terms of the number of children tolerating formula or experiencing an allergic reaction or withdrawing formula due to taste or other palatability features and CMPA related direct medical costs from the payer perspective. RESULTS: We estimated that 13,000 children are diagnosed with CMPA in 1 year in Turkey. For the children receiving AAF, it is estimated that 83.7% tolerate AAF until the 24th month, and the total cost for the children tolerating AAF is estimated at 20.6 million€. The average cost per child tolerating AAF until the 24th month is estimated at 1895€. On the other hand, 48.7% are estimated to tolerate eHF until the 24th month, and the total cost for the children tolerating eHF is estimated at 12.3 million€ and the average cost per child tolerating eHF until the 24th month is estimated at 1940€. CONCLUSION: The analysis revealed that the management of CMPA is associated with the economic burden on the healthcare system in Turkey. Treatment of CMPA with AAF seems to provide better clinical outcomes (high tolerability and less withdrawal due to taste or an allergic reaction) and to be an option with economic benefits when Turkey-specific conditions are considered.