Skin prick test responses and allergen-specific IgE levels as predictors of peanut, egg, and sesame allergy in infants

Abstract

Background Ninety-five percent positive predictive values (PPVs) provide an invaluable tool for clinicians to avoid unnecessary oral food challenges. However, 95% PPVs specific to infants, the age group most likely to present for diagnosis of food allergy, are limited. Objective We sought to develop skin prick test (SPT) and allergen-specific IgE (sIgE) thresholds with 95% PPVs for challenge-confirmed food allergy in a large population-based cohort of 1-year-old infants with challenges undertaken irrespective of SPT wheal size or previous history of ingestion. Methods HealthNuts is a population-based, longitudinal food allergy study with baseline recruitment of 1-year-old infants. Infants we..