Diagnosis and treatment of pediatric food allergy: an update

Abstract

The prevalence of pediatric food allergy and anaphylaxis has increased in the last decades, especially in westernized countries where this emerging phenomenon was marked as a "second wave" of the allergic epidemic. Over recent years great advances have been achieved in the field of in vitro allergy testing and component-resolved diagnosis has increasingly entered clinical practice. Testing for allergen components can contribute to a more precise diagnosis by discriminating primary from cross-reactive sensitizations and assessing the risk of severe allergic reactions.The basic concept of the management of food allergy in children is also changing. Avoidance of the offending food is still the mainstay for disease management, especially in primary health care settings, but it severely affects the patients' quality of life without reducing the risk of accidental allergic reactions. There is a growing body of evidence to show that specific oral tolerance induction can represent a promising treatment option for food allergic patients. In parallel, education of food allergic patients and their caregivers as well as physicians about anaphylaxis and its treatment is becoming recognized a fundamental need. International guidelines have recently integrated these new evidences and their broad application all over Europe represents the new challenge for food allergy specialists.