Evaluation and Long-Term Follow-Up of Patients With Allergic and Inflammatory Disorders

This study will evaluate and follow patients with various allergic, hypersensitivity and inflammatory disorders. The protocol is not designed to test new treatments; patients will be managed with standard of care therapies. Participants may be referred to other current NIAID protocols as appropriate or to new studies as they are developed, but will not be required to join another study. Patients with allergic, hypersensitivity or inflammatory disorders between the ages of 3 years and 80 years may be eligible for this study. Conditions of interest include, but are not limited to, asthma, allergic rhinitis, mastocytosis, atopic dermatitis and food allergy. Participants will have a medical history and physical examination, plus standard tests for diagnosing and treating their specific disorder. Tests may include routine blood and urine studies, X-rays or other imaging studies, allergy skin tests and lung function tests. Blood samples may be collected for research on immune system cells and other substances involved in immune function. Generally, about 2 to 6 tablespoons will be drawn at a time, but no more than 16 ounces will be collected over a 6-week period. NIH does not provide emergency medical treatment or treatment for other, unrelated conditions the patient may have. Therefore, patients must maintain a personal physician for these purposes.

Allergic, hypersensitivity and inflammatory disorders, including but not limited to asthma, allergic rhinitis, mastocytosis, atopic dermatitis and food allergy are exceedingly common disorders. The pathogenesis of these various disorders are being investigated under a number of Laboratory of Allergic Diseases clinical research protocols. This protocol is an evaluation and long term follow-up protocol of such disorders, for the purposes of maintaining a group of patients on which LAD investigators draw for our other various protocols. The patients admitted under this protocol also provide training and experience for members of the NIAID Allergy and Immunology fellowship training programs.