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Purpose: Up to now, there is no generally accepted biomarker to indicate the clinical response of immunotherapy. This study mainly analyzed the correlation between eosinophil cationic protein-myeloperoxidase (ECP-MPO) test papers and other immunotherapy indices in subcutaneous immunotherapy of dust mites and to explore whether the test paper can be used as an auxiliary index to quickly evaluate the efficacy of immunotherapy. Patients and methods: This study included 53 participants who received subcutaneous immunotherapy at the allergy clinic of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University and 28 control participants. Six visits were conducted during a prospective study over one year. The results of the ECP-MPO test paper, nasal secretion eosinophil smear and count, nasal secretion ECP concentration, and clinical symptom scores were collected during five follow-up visits after the start of subcutaneous immunotherapy. Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokines, chemokines, IgE, IgG4 against dust mite components, and ECP concentrations were detected in the serum of participants at baseline, six months, and one year after subcutaneous immunotherapy. Results: The ECP test paper is not only easy to operate, but also can effectively and quickly detect the concentrations of ECP in the nasal secretion and diagnose allergic rhinitis. Symptom score is an important index for evaluating clinical immune efficacy, during subcutaneous immunotherapy, the ECP test paper showed a positive correlation with the symptom score. Simultaneously, during immunotherapy, the changes in the chromogenic grading of the test paper were synchronized with the changes in inflammatory cytokines and eosinophilic chemokines in Th2 cells of serum dust mite IgE. The sIgG4 against dust mites weakly negatively correlated with the concentration of ECP in nasal secretions and the color classification of the ECP test paper. Conclusion: The ECP-MPO test paper has a certain correlation with subcutaneous immunotherapy markers of allergic rhinitis, indicating that the ECP test paper may become an auxiliary biomarker to replace other complex laboratory tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There are increasing reports of a link between chronic constipation and allergies in children. However, similar epidemiological evidence is limited in the general adult population. Therefore, in this study, we attempted to assess the association between chronic constipation and allergy in adults aged ≥20 years in the USA. Methods: We established a logistic regression model to test the relationship between chronic constipation and 19 specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) types in adults aged ≥20 years using large-sample data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey database (2005–2006). The weekly defecation times of the allergic and non-allergic groups were compared using the t test. Results: We found that sIgE-sensitized participants had a 0.723 lower risk of chronic constipation than the general population (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.566–0.923). There was a negative association between chronic constipation and sensitizations to peanut (odds ratio (OR) = 0.579, 95% CI = 0.381–0.935), egg (OR = 0.335, 95% CI = 0.134–0.838), dog (OR = 0.723, 95% CI = 0.522–0.965), and cockroach (OR = 0.540, 95% CI = 0.373–0.784). In addition, the frequency of defecation per week increased significantly in people allergic to peanuts and cockroaches (p < 0.05). Discussion/Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate an inverse relationship between sIgE sensitization and chronic constipation in adults. However, the specific association mechanism needs to be further studied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]