Instant allergy test for children '96% accurate'

Doctors will be able to find out in a matter of seconds whether children have food allergies thanks to research carried out by UCC.

An online calculator for healthcare professionals, which can predict the presence of the three major food allergies in children, has been developed.

The results of the ‘Cork-Southampton calculator’ are 96% accurate, according to research published in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.

Placebo-controlled food challenges are the gold standard for diagnosing food allergy, but they are time-consuming and costly.

In addition, not all clinical facilities have the needed staff or resources. Two Cork researchers, Dr Audrey Dunn Galvin and Professor Jonathan Hourihane of the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, devised highly accurate, allergen-specific algorithims for each of the most important food types — cow’s milk, egg and peanut.

They looked at the outcomes of combinations of data on clinical factors — including a skin prick test, blood tests, allergic reaction history, sex and age.

The researchers then compared those to the results of the children’s food challenges. From this analysis, they developed an effective prediction model.

Kevin Dalton, of UCC’s Office of Technology Transfer said the calculator should replace uncertainty for many doctors treating children with food allergy.

Article courtesy of the Evening Echo newspaper.