Over restrictive elimination of foods in children with food allergy

Background. Previous studies demonstrated critical deficits in diagnosis and management of childhood food allergy (FA), and recent developments in FA research support adopting a proactive approach in FA management. Our objective was to describe FA knowledge and management patterns of pediatricians. Method. We applied a 24-item survey to 170 general pediatricians, pediatric allergists and pediatric gastroenterologists practicing in Turkey. Results. Some IgE-mediated symptoms of FA such as cough, urticaria, wheezing and anaphylaxis were falsely recognized as symptoms of non-IgE-mediated FA by 30%, 29%, 25% and 19% of the participants, respectively. By contrast, 50% of the participants falsely recognized bloody stool, a finding of IgE-mediated FA. Most frequently and least frequently used diagnostic tools were specific IgE (30.5%) and oral food challenge test (1.7%), respectively. Maternal diet restrictions and infant diet restrictions were advised by 82% and 82%, respectively. Percentages of physicians eliminating only 1 food were 21%, 19%; 2 foods were 15%, 11%; 3 foods were 7%, 8%; 4-5 foods were 8%, 11%; 5 to 10 foods were 21%, 26%; and >10 foods were 28%, 25% from the maternal and infant diet, respectively. Cow’s milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, baked milk products and hen’s egg were the most commonly restricted items. Conclusion. Overall, FA knowledge of pediatricians was fair. Pediatricians utilize an overly restrictive approach when advising diet eliminations in FA. Recent developments favor a more proactive approach to induce immune tolerance and need to be encouraged in pediatric clinical practice. Future educational efforts should focus on emphasizing the deleterious effects of injudicious and extensive eliminations.