The predictive value of skin prick testing for challenge-proven food allergy: A systematic review

Abstract

Immunoglobulin E-mediated (IgE) food allergy affects 6-8% of children, and the prevalence is believed to be increasing. The gold standard of food allergy diagnosis is oral food challenges (OFCs); however, they are resource-consuming and potentially dangerous. Skin prick tests (SPTs) are able to detect the presence of allergen-specific IgE antibodies (sensitization), but they have low specificity for clinically significant food allergy. To reduce the need for OFCs, it has been suggested that children forgo an OFC if their SPT wheal size exceeds a cutoff that has a high predictability for food allergy. Although data for these studies are almost always gathered from high-risk populations, the 9..