Diagnostic Decision Point for IgE-Mediated Wheat Allergy in Children

• Published in: Allergy, asthma & immunology research Vol. 16; no. 5; pp. 555 - 561
• Main Authors: Hwang, Yoonha, Kim, Jihyun, Ahn, Kangmo, Jeong, Kyunguk, Lee, Sooyoung, Hong, Soo-Jong, Jeon, You Hoon, Kim, Yoon Hee, Shin, Meeyong, Song, Tae Won, Jung, Minyoung, Kim, Minji, Min, Taek Ki, Lee, Ji Young, Kim, Min Jung, Lee, Yong Ju, Lee, Jeongmin, Park, Young A, Jang, Gwang Cheon, Ahn, Young Min, Lee, So-Yeon, Kim, Jeong Hee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology 01.09.2024; The Korean Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology; The Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Disease; 대한천식알레르기학회
• Subjects: Allergies; Brief Communication; Children; Chronology; Comorbidity; Diagnostic systems; Food; Food allergies; Genetics; Immunoglobulin E; Wheat; 내과학; Demographic; diagnosis; wheat; specific IgE; ingestion; food allergy
• DOI: 10.4168/aair.2024.16.5.555
• ISSN: 2092-7355

The diagnostic decision point can help diagnose food allergies while reducing the need for oral food challenge (OFC) tests. We performed a multicenter survey of children aged 0-7 years from January 1, 2018 to March 31, 2022. A total of 231 children were recruited from 18 institutions. Wheat allergy (WA) or non-wheat allergy (NWA) was determined on the basis of OFC results and symptoms. There were no differences in age, sex, family history of allergy or allergic comorbidities between the WA and NWA groups. According to receiver operating characteristic analysis for wheat-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE), the optimal cutoff value, positive decision point, and negative decision point were 10.2, 33.5, and 0.41 kU/L, respectively. For the ω-5 gliadin-specific IgE, their values were 0.69, 3.88, and 0.01 kU/L, respectively. This new diagnostic decision point may be used to diagnose WA in Korean children.