In this study, oral desensitization was found to be effective in a significant percentage of 2-year-old children with cow's milk allergy. Oral desensitization appears to be efficacious as an alternative to elimination diet in the treatment of 2-year-old children with cow's milk allergy. The side-effect profile appears acceptable but requires further study.

A high prevalence of food sensitization was found in infants with AD. The most frequent sensitization observed was to egg, although with little clinical relevance since this food had not been introduced into the diet. In the sample studied, the clinical relevance of the observed food hypersensitivities was confirmed in relation to AD. Further studies are required to confirm these results.

It is thought that the natural evolution of egg allergy has a good tolerance prognosis. However, there are few follow-up studies that determine the exact probability of tolerance. The aim of this study was to determine the likelihood that children younger than 2,5 years of age with allergy to egg would eventually have tolerance to it and to analyze if monitoring egg white-specific IgE level over time could be used as a predictor for determining when patients develop clinical tolerance. We performed a retrospective study of our last 42 patients diagnosed with egg allergy. Annual follow-up comprised prick testing, specific IgE (sIgE) and provocation testing with egg white (EW), allowing the prediction of tolerance at that timepoint with a probability of >or=95%. Median survival time was 48 months. The mean initial and final levels of EW sIgE were lower in the patients that reached tolerance (p<0.05). EW sIgE levels of 1.52, 1.35, and 2.59 KUA/l, respectively predicted clinical reactivity (PPV > 95%) at the different follow-up timepoints analyzed (25-36, 37-48 and 49-60 months. Quantification of egg white specific IgE levels is a useful test for diagnosing symptomatic allergy to egg white in the pediatric population and could eliminate the need to perform oral challenges tests in a significant number of children.

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