An International Delphi Consensus on the Management of Pollen-Food Allergy Syndrome: A Work Group Report of the AAAAI Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee

Background

Pollen-food allergy syndrome (PFAS) is common among patients with allergic rhinitis. Treatment recommendations for patients with PFAS remain variable.

Objective

To develop consensus recommendation statements for managing patients with PFAS.

Methods

An international panel of allergists, researchers, and nutritionists with an interest in PFAS from 25 different institutions across 11 countries convened and a list of statements was written by 3 authors. The RAND/University of California Los Angeles methodology was adopted to establish consensus on the statements.

Results

After 2 Delphi rounds, a consensus was reached on 14 statements. The panel agreed that patients with PFAS would benefit from counseling on the nature and basis of PFAS and the rare chance of more severe systemic reactions and their recognition. The panel agreed on avoiding the raw food responsible for the index reaction, but not potentially cross-reactive fruits/vegetables based on the responsible food of the index reaction. Epinephrine autoinjectors should be recommended for patients with PFAS who experienced severe symptoms (beyond the oropharynx) or for patients considered at risk for severe reactions. The panel agreed that the benefit of allergen immunotherapy remains unclear and that PFAS should not be considered the primary indication for such intervention.

Conclusions

We developed consensus statements regarding counselling patients about the nature and severity of PFAS, potential risk factors, dietary avoidance, epinephrine autoinjector prescription, and allergen immunotherapy consideration for patients with PFAS.