Peanut sensitization in a group of allergic Egyptian children

BACKGROUND There are no published data on peanut sensitization in Egypt and the problem of peanut allergy seems underestimated. We sought to screen for peanut sensitization in a group of atopic Egyptian children in relation to their phenotypic manifestations. METHODS We consecutively enrolled 100 allergic children; 2-10 years old (mean 6.5 yr). The study measurements included clinical evaluation for site of allergy, possible precipitating factors, consumption of peanuts (starting age and last consumption), duration of breast feeding, current treatment, and family history of allergy as well as skin prick testing with a commercial peanut extract, and serum peanut specific and total IgE estimation. Children who were found sensitized to peanuts were subjected to an open oral peanut challenge test taking all necessary precautions. RESULTS Seven subjects (7%) were sensitized and three out of six of them had positive oral challenge denoting allergy to peanuts. The sensitization rates did not vary significantly with gender, age, family history of allergy, breast feeding duration, clinical form of allergy, serum total IgE, or absolute eosinophil count. All peanut sensitive subjects had skin with or without respiratory allergy. CONCLUSIONS Peanut allergy does not seem to be rare in atopic children in Egypt. Skin prick and specific IgE testing are effective screening tools to determine candidates for peanut oral challenging. Wider scale multicenter population-based studies are needed to assess the prevalence of peanut allergy and its clinical correlates in our country.