Misdiagnosed Food Allergy Resulting in Severe Malnutrition in an Infant abstract

As food allergies become increasingly prevalent and testing methods to identify “food allergy” increase in number, the importance of careful diagnosis has become even more critical. Misdiagnosis of food allergy and inappropriate use of unproven testing modalities may lead to a harmful food-elimination diet. This case is an example of an infant who was placed on an overly restrictive elimination diet at the recommendation of her health care providers, resulting in kwashiorkor and acquired acrodermatitis enteropathica. Pediatrics 2013;132:e229–e232 AUTHORS: Michael Alvares, MD,a Leon Kao, MD,a Vineeta Mittal, MD,b Alice Wuu, MD,c April Clark, RD,a and J. Andrew Bird, MDa Divisions of aAllergy and Immunology, bPediatrics, and cDermatology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas