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The effectiveness of skin prick test in diagnosing severe paediatric food allergy: A systematic review
  • Daniel Zhou,
  • Evelyn Fleming,
  • Colin Macdougall
Daniel Zhou
University of Warwick Warwick Medical School

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Evelyn Fleming
University of Warwick Warwick Medical School
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Colin Macdougall
University of Warwick Warwick Medical School
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Abstract

There is an increasing incidence of food allergy identified globally in the paediatric population. Diagnosis of suspected cases by oral food challenge (OFC) is time-consuming and often linked to anxiety in parents and children. There is also a risk of triggering an anaphylaxis reaction between 2.4%-34.1% of challenges triggering anaphylaxis. To reduce the number of OFC carried out in allergy-suspected children, the use of skin prick tests (SPT) is a simpler and less expensive method of diagnosis. Although the predictive value of the SPT remains unclear, hence there is a requirement for further studies on the predictive value of the SPT to provide increased clarity of the essential parameters.