Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Sep 12;14(Suppl 2):55.
doi: 10.1186/s13223-018-0284-3. eCollection 2018.

IgE-mediated food allergy

Susan Waserman  1 , Philippe Bégin  2 , Wade Watson  3
Affiliations
Review

IgE-mediated food allergy

Susan Waserman et al. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. .

Abstract

Food allergy is defined as an adverse immunologic response to a food protein. Food-related reactions are associated with a broad range of signs and symptoms that may involve any body system, including the skin, gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts, and cardiovascular system. Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergy is a leading cause of anaphylaxis and, therefore, referral to an allergist for timely and appropriate diagnosis and treatment is imperative. Diagnosis entails a careful history and diagnostic tests, such as skin prick tests, serum-specific IgE and, if indicated, an oral food challenge. Once the diagnosis of food allergy is confirmed, strict elimination of the offending food allergen from the diet is generally necessary; however, in the case of cow's milk and egg allergy, many allergic children are able to eat these foods in their baked form. This article provides an overview of the epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of IgE-mediated food allergy.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Spectrum of food allergy disorders according to pathophysiology [6, 8, 10]
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Simplified algorithm for the diagnosis and management of food allergy. IgE immunoglobulin E
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Sampson HA. Update on food allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2004;113:805–819. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2004.03.014. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Soller L, Ben-Shoshan M, Harrington DW, Knoll M, Fragapane J, Joseph L, St Pierre Y, La Vieille S, Wilson K, Elliott SJ, Clarke AE. Adjusting for nonresponse bias corrects overestimates of food allergy prevalence. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2015;3(2):291–293. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2014.11.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. http://www.foodallergy.org. Accessed 14 Sept 2010.
    1. Xu YS, Kastner M, Harada L, Xu A, Salter J, Waserman S. Anaphylaxis-related deaths in Ontario: a retrospective review of cases from 1986 to 2011. Allergy Asthma Clin Immunol. 2014;10(1):38. doi: 10.1186/1710-1492-10-38. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Connors L, Waserman S. Food allergy—the nuts and bolts. Parkhurst Exchange. 2010; 18.

LinkOut - more resources