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| |  Skin Rashes Linked To Food Allergies In Kids MONTREAL, QC -- March 5, 1998 -- The prevalence of food allergy in kids with skin rashes seems to be considerably higher than in the general population, according to a study published in journal Pediatrics Electronic Pages. Based on their findings, the researchers recommend that physicians evaluate kids with skin rashes for possible food allergies. Studies have shown that atopic dermatitis (AD), a form of eczema, is a chronic and relapsing inflammatory skin disorder that usually begins in infancy or early childhood and involves the cheeks, hands and feet. Research has found that about 60 percent of kids with AD evaluated by double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge experienced a positive reaction to food. The children in the current study were selected from a group of children six months to 20 years with a history of a persistent eczematous rash in two or more predilection sites despite the use of topical corticosteroids who had been referred to a pediatric dermatologist. Patients were assigned an AD symptom score and were screened for food-specific serum IgE antibodies to six which are known to be the most allergenic in children foods (milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanut, fish). The levels of food-specific serum IgE were determined by the CAP System fluoroscein-enzyme immunoassay (CAP); patients with a value 0.7 kIUa/L were invited for an additional allergy evaluation. Those with CAP values below the cutoff were considered not food allergic. Kids who met one of the following criteria for at least one food were considered allergic: reaction on food challenge; CAP value more than the 95 percent confidence interval predictive for a reaction; convincing history of an acute significant (hives, respiratory symptoms) reaction after the isolated ingestion of a food to which there was a positive CAP or prick skin test. Of the 41 children with positive specific IgE values, 31 were evaluated further, 19 underwent a total of 50 food challenges, with 11 kids experiencing 18 positive challenges (94 percent with skin reactions). Six children had a convincing history with a predictive level of IgE; five had a convincing history with positive, indeterminate levels of IgE; and one child had predictive levels of IgE (to egg and peanut) without a history of an acute reaction. The results found that about one third of the children in the study (37 percent) had clinically significant IgE-mediated food hypersensitivity without a significant difference in age or symptom score between those with or without food allergy.
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