Study finds many infants thought to have peanut allergy are not allergic

An oral food challenge found that 34.8% of infants thought to have peanut allergy did not react to peanut, according to a study reported in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. The infants had reacted to peanut before age 1 and had a positive skin prick or blood test. They were being assessed for oral immunotherapy, a treatment that involves exposure to an allergen.

The researchers reported 61 cases of anaphylaxis during 778 threshold oral food challenges (7.8%). They said challenges should be done in centers with appropriate medical support, and argued that they should be considered in infants regardless of whether the planned approach is immunotherapy or avoiding peanut. The study authors said clinical history and allergy tests alone were insufficient to diagnose peanut allergy in this age group.