Scientists from Sechenov University, in collaboration with Children’s City Clinical Hospital No. 9 named after G. N. Speransky, have developed a new approach to diagnosing food allergies in children. This method aims to help avoid unnecessary and unjustified dietary restrictions, according to the university’s press center. The technique is based on an allergen provocation test, a diagnostic procedure where a suspected allergen is consumed in gradually increasing doses under strict medical supervision.
According to a study published in the Attending Physician journal, traditional diagnostic methods—such as medical history collection and laboratory tests—often produce false positive results. As a result, important foods like milk and eggs are unnecessarily removed from their diets for years.
During the study, 130 children aged 6 months to 17 years with suspected allergies to milk and/or eggs underwent open provocative tests in an intensive care setting. The product was administered gradually, with the dose increased every 15 minutes, while carefully monitoring the child’s condition. None of the participants had severe allergic reactions.
“94% of children were following an unnecessary diet at the time of the study,” said Lyudmila Fedorova, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases Department at the Filatov Clinical Institute of Children’s Health, Sechenov University.
Only 6% of the patients exhibited a positive reaction, confirming the presence of allergies, and were subsequently provided with recommendations for a safe and appropriate diet.
The developed technique will serve as the foundation for an updated clinical protocol for diagnosing food allergies. Methodological recommendations will be prepared soon, followed by the implementation of provocative tests in the practice of all specialized hospitals within the Moscow Healthcare Department and in hospitals across other regions of the Russian Federation.
The scientists also plan to expand the study to include other common allergens.
Earlier reports indicated a shortage of popular allergy medications, Allergodil and Cromogexal, in Moscow pharmacies amid the start of the flowering season. The media pointed out that the drugs are not even available in online stores; however, experts emphasized that effective alternatives are available on the market.