After enjoying your Valentine’s Day chocolates and roses, be sure to grab the latest issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology to catch up on the important changes in the practice of allergy and immunology. This month, Annals is focused on atopic dermatitis. There are several important articles that will help you provide the best care to your patients. There are now multiple therapies for AD, and the CME Review this month explores the immunologic pathways involved in the disease and how these pathways can help you identify the best personal therapeutic for your patients. Related to this, a perspective in this issue looks at targeting Type 2 immune activation beyond solely in AD. The review this month explores the role of genetics and therapeutics in protecting and improving the skin barrier in patients with AD.
In this issue, read “Anaphylaxis: A 2023 practice parameter update.” This is a critical review of anaphylaxis with important updates to the diagnosis and treatment of this disorder. I strongly recommend reading the entire parameter, but an accompanying editorial highlights the major changes outlined in the new guideline.
Research articles include a study of the essential role of MZB-1 expressing cells (did you know they existed?) in local immunoglobulin production in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, as well as the contribution of phylogenetic and environmental determinants in fungal sensitization. The change in at-home asthma mortality in the United States over the past two decades is examined and compared to asthma mortality in other settings, and you will be surprised at the findings. Two other articles examine asthma medications, with one looking at the impact of drug plan deductibles on asthma medication adherence, and the other comparing the cost-effectiveness of budesonide-formoterol versus inhaled epinephrine for the treatment of mild asthma.
Letters in this month’s Annals focus on the interface between smoking and respiratory viral infection in pediatric asthma, the impact of a behavioral health intervention in food allergy, the financial burdens of treatment access in atopic dermatitis, and the impact of a dedicated pathway for penicillin allergy evaluation during pregnancy. As always, this month contains a side-splitting and educating Marginal Zone Cartootorial exploring Staphylococcus epidermidis versus Staphylococcus aureus colonization of the skin.
Be sure to read this month’s Annals – always helping you provide the most up-to-date care to your patients. I hope it warms your heart. As we ask every month, if you have any comments, please email Annals (annals@ACAAI.org) with any comments (good or bad) about articles and the utility of the journal. I am always excited to hear how Annals has helped you improve the lives of your patients!
Mitchell H. Grayson, MD, FACAAI
Editor-in-Chief
