Progress of Home-Based Food Allergy Treatment during the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Multicenter Survey

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic’s impact on food allergy treatment such as home-based oral immunotherapy (OIT) is not known. This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based anonymized survey screened 2500 parents of children with allergic diseases and was conducted in the pediatric outpatient clinics of 24 hospitals. Basic clinical data of the children were collected along with the degree of allergy control, parental anxiety about emergency visits, and the risk of COVID-19 in the first state of emergency. A total of 2439 (97.6%) questionnaires were collected, and 1315 parents who were instructed to initiate home-based OIT for their children were enrolled (OIT group). Subjective OIT progress compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic was ascertained as “Full”, “Middle”, “Low”, “Little”, and “Stop” in 264 (20.1%), 408 (31.0%), 384 (29.2%), 203 (15.4%), and 56 (4.3%) participants, respectively. Anxiety about emergency visits and the risk of COVID-19 were negatively associated with the subjective OIT progress. In Japan, approximately half of the children continued smoothly the home-based OIT during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents with high levels of anxiety about the disruption of the medical care system due to COVID-19 and the risk of COVID-19 did not experience a smooth continuation of home-based OIT.