Clinical studies of food allergy in infants and children.

This was a study of 50 patients, aged 3 months to 10 years. There were 27 males and 23 females. Symptoms varied from respiratory complaints to rash, headaches, and gastrointestinal symptoms. Twenty-seven patients had runny nose, 15 wheezing, 19 frequent infections, 10 coughing, 10 ear infections, 9 rash, 6 gastrointestinal symptoms, and 6 with headaches. Laboratory evaluation showed that 16 patients had elevated IgE. Forty-six patients had IgE RAST evaluation. Of these, only 17 had positive IgE RAST for foods including corn, egg, wheat, and milk. In contrast, 32 of 46 patients had positive IgG RAST for foods including corn, egg, wheat, and milk. Elimination diet of IgE RAST-positive and IgG RAST-positive foods caused a 70% reduction of symptoms. Although the data suggest that IgG antibodies may be helpful, further studies are warranted.