When Should Food Allergy Testing Be Performed?

Specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels and skin prick testing (SPT) are very sensitive for IgE-mediated food allergy, but their positive predictive values are less than 50%. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) guidelines recommend performing sIgE testing or SPT only in patients with histories suggestive of immediate IgE-mediated reactions or those with eosinophilic esophagitis or moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

Now, investigators have performed a retrospective chart review to assess the utility of food allergy testing in 797 new patients seen by a single provider at a tertiary-care food allergy clinic. Of these patients, 284 (35%) had received a previous sIgE food allergy panel.

Of patients who had received an …