Study suggests many infants diagnosed with peanut allergy may outgrow it, recommends retesting

A study conducted by the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the National Allergy Centre of Excellence in Australia found that 34.8% of infants who had tested positive for a peanut allergy tolerated peanuts when given gradually increasing doses under medical supervision. The research, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, suggests that many children may be incorrectly labeled as allergic.

The investigators noted that oral food challenges are not routinely used for infants with suspected peanut allergy. > "Oral food challenges are not currently used routinely for every infant with suspected peanut allergy," said National Allergy Centre of Excellence Director Kirsten Perrett. "But our results show that clinical history and allergy testing alone were not enough to accurately diagnose peanut allergy in many cases. A supervised oral food challenge should be routinely considered to confirm the diagnosis before an infant starts oral immunotherapy."

Experts cautioned that such challenges must be performed in a clinical setting. > Dr. Tania Elliott, a medical contributor and immunologist, told CBS Mornings that parents should discuss an oral food challenge with their allergist and that the procedure should not be attempted at home because 12% of the infants experienced anaphylaxis during the challenge. She added that children should be retested annually to determine whether the allergy persists.