Practice Parameter

Environmental assessment and exposure reduction of rodents: a practice parameter

This parameter was developed by the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters, representing the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

Disclaimer: The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) have jointly accepted responsibility for establishing “Environmental Assessment and Remediation: A Practice Parameter.” This is a complete and comprehensive document at the current time. The medical environment is a changing environment, and not all recommendations will be appropriate for all patients. Because this document incorporated the efforts of many participants, no single individual, including those who served on the Joint Task Force, is authorized to provide an official AAAAI or ACAAI interpretation of these practice parameters. Any request for information about or an interpretation of these practice parameters by the AAAAI or ACAAI should be directed to the executive offices of the AAAAI, the ACAAI, and the Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. These parameters are not designed for use by pharmaceutical companies in drug promotion.

Reprints: Joint Council of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, 50 N Brockway St, #3-3, Palatine, IL 60067.

Disclosures: The following is a summary of interests disclosed on Work Group members' Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statements (not including information concerning family member interests). Completed Conflict of Interest Disclosure Statements are available upon request. Dr Sublett is the owner of AllergyZone. Dr Portnoy is a consultant for ThermoFisher (Phadia). Dr Barnes is a consultant for and has received research funding from Clorox Corporation. Mr Grimes is the owner of Healthy Habitats LLC. Dr Matsui is speaker for Indoor BioTechnologies. Dr Seltzer is the president of James M. Seltzer, Assoc. The other Work Group members have no conflicts to disclose. The Joint Task Force recognizes that experts in a field are likely to have interests that could come into conflict with development of a completely unbiased and objective practice parameter. To take advantage of that expertise, a process has been developed to prevent potential conflicts from influencing the final document in a negative way. At the workgroup level, members who have a potential conflict of interest either do not participate in discussions concerning topics related to the potential conflict or, if they do write a section on that topic, the workgroup completely rewrites it without their involvement to remove potential bias. In addition, the entire document is reviewed by the Joint Taskforce and any apparent bias is removed at that level. Finally, the practice parameter is sent for review both by invited reviewers and by anyone with an interest in the topic by posting the document on the web sites of the ACAAI and the AAAAI. These reviewers make comments which often change the document and would further delete any bias on the part of any one individual involved in the drafting of the document.

The Joint Task Force has made a concerted effort to acknowledge all contributors to this parameter. If any contributors have been excluded inadvertently, the task force will ensure that appropriate recognition of such contributions is made subsequently.

Workgroup Cochairs, James Sublett, MD, Family Allergy and Asthma, Louisville, Kentucky; Kevin Kennedy, MPH, Center for Environmental Health Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Kansas City, Missouri; Joint Task Force Liaison, Jay M. Portnoy, MD, Section of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, The Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics, Department of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri; Joint Task Force Members, David I. Bernstein, MD, Department of Clinical Medicine and Environmental Health, Division of Allergy/Immunology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio; Joann Blessing-Moore, MD, Department of Medicine and Pediatrics, Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, California; Linda Cox, MD, Department of Medicine, Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Davie, Florida; David A. Khan, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas; David M. Lang, MD, Allergy/Immunology Section, Division of Medicine, Director, Allergy and Immunology Fellowship Training Program, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio; Richard A. Nicklas, MD, Department of Medicine, George Washington Medical Center, Washington, DC; John Oppenheimer, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, New Jersey Medical School, Pulmonary and Allergy Associates, Morristown, New Jersey; Jay M. Portnoy, MD, Section of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, The Children's Mercy Hospital, Department of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri; Christopher C. Randolph, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Yale Affiliated Hospitals, Center for Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology, Waterbury, Connecticut; Diane E. Schuller, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Pennsylvania State University Milton S. Hershey Medical College, Hershey, Pennsylvania; Sheldon L. Spector, MD, Department of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California; Stephen A. Tilles, MD, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Redmond, Washington; Dana Wallace, MD, Department of Medicine, Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Davie, Florida; Parameter Work Group Members, Charles Barnes, PhD, Allergy Research, The Children's Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri; David I. Bernstein, MD, Department of Clinical Medicine, Division of Immunology, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio; Jonathan A. Bernstein, MD, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Immunology/Allergy Section, Cincinnati, Ohio; Carl Grimes, CIEC Healthy Habitats LLC, Denver, Colorado; Elizabeth Matsui, MD, MHS, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; J. David Miller, PhD, Department of Biochemistry, Carlton, University, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Wanda Phipatanakul, MD, MS, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, Harvard Medical School Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; James M. Seltzer, MD, Department of Allergy and Immunology, Reliance Medical Group, Worcester, Massachusetts; P. Brock Williams, PhD, Department of Allergy/Immunology, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and The Children's Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, Kansas City, Missouri.

Chief Editor: Wanda Phipatanakul, MD, Elizabeth Matsui, MD, MHS, Jay Portnoy, MD

Members of the Joint Task Force: David Bernstein, MD, Joann Blessing-Moore, MD, Linda Cox, MD, David Khan, MD, David Lang, MD, Richard Nicklas, MD, John Oppenheimer, MD, Jay Portnoy, MD, Christopher Randolph, MD, Diane Schuller, MD, Sheldon Spector, MD, Stephen A. Tilles, MD, Dana Wallace, MD

Practice Parameter Work Group: James Sublett, MD, cochair, Kevin Kennedy, MPH, cochair, Charles Barnes, PhD, David Bernstein, MD, Jonathan Bernstein, MD, Carl Grimes, Elizabeth Matsui, MD, MHS, J. David Miller, PhD, Wanda Phipatanakul, MD, MS, James Seltzer, MD, P. Brock Williams, PhD