"Arthur Brain" <arthur_brain@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:1179269312.104003.3390@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Kids mistakenly diagnosed with nut allergy
>
> May 16, 2007 05:33am
> Article from: AAP
>
> HUNDREDS of Australian parents may be worrying needlessly that their
> children have a peanut allergy, because they may have been incorrectly
> diagnosed, a new study found.
>
> Researchers have discovered that about one third of children who
> returned a positive result in a skin-prick test were actually able to
> eat peanuts safely.
>
> Sydney Children's Hospital immunologist and University of New South
> Wales researcher Brynn Wainstein said the results show parents should
> not automatically accept a nut allergy diagnosis.
>
> "Because peanut allergies are potentially serious, requiring all sorts
> of restrictions, families can become very anxious when, in fact, some
> of these families may be worrying unnecessarily," Dr Wainstein said.
>
> The study involved 84 children who had been diagnosed with a peanut
> allergy without ever having eaten the nuts.
>
> The children were thought to suffer an allergy because after having
> traces of peanut introduced into a small scratch made on their skin
> with a needle, they developed a hive larger than 8mm, which is the
> commonly accepted cut off size.
>
> But the researchers found that about one third of children who then
> took a "peanut challenge", in which they ate peanuts while under
> observation in hospital, had no reaction.
>
> After reviewing the results, the researchers found those children who
> were not allergic had all developed hives smaller than 13mm.
>
> The result indicated the actual cut off level, when the test was
> performed in their clinic - and likely many other Australian clinics -
> was higher than the accepted standard.
>
> The researchers concluded that the test was "very subjective", and may
> be affected by variables such as the equipment used and the pressure
> the doctor places on the skin.
>
> "Essentially, the take home message was that if you don't know your
> child has a peanut allergy ... and the doctor says your child is
> allergic to peanut, you need to say: 'Are you sure?'," Dr Wainstein
> said.
>
> He said for many parents it may be worth putting their children
> through the peanut challenge, which was the "gold standard" of
> testing.
>
> "The only way to know, in some cases, whether the test means you're
> allergic is to do a food challenge," he said.
>
> About one in 200 children will have an allergic reaction to peanuts by
> the age of five, in which their blood pressure drops and their tongue
> and throat swell, blocking the airway.
>
> The reaction is potentially fatal, but can be counteracted if the
> child is quickly given an adrenaline injection.
>
> Dr Wainstein said the researchers were further studying skin tests in
> an attempt to see if the size of the hive could predict children who
> would have severe a allergic reaction.
>
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