p-nut allergy news/your respons

Above a >95% predictive value, there is little point in conducting a food challenge. Many board-certified allergists would refuse to do so above a 95% predictive RAST for peanut due to the very real risk of fatality, even in a hospital setting. The exception is the unusual case in which the patient in question has a clear history of consuming the food in question without any evidence of a clinical response.

More about >95% predictive RAST:
[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=9338535"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=9338535[/url]

[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=11344358"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=11344358[/url]

[url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=11150010"]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=11150010[/url]

(And the full text of the most useful of the articles [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

[url="http://www.diffchamb.com/website/Archive/documents/diffchambAB/product%20files/elisadoc/ref_lit_elisa/Ref%20Lit%204%20Peanuts.PDF"]http://www.diffchamb.com/website/Archive...4%20Peanuts.PDF[/url]

504 teams [i]frequently[/i] request such data to support eligibility, though this may be in the form of a physician's written assertion rather than specific test results. This is because the physician is trained to interpret such test results, and most 504 committees do not have a member with an MD with an allergy specialty.

In addition, many allergists do not feel that there is need for a lot of testing when there is a very clear clinical history of life-threatening allergy-- other than to make certain that the allergen is correctly identified. A hospital stay or intubation after a first taste of a particular food is generally considered sufficient, provided that other possible causes are eliminated. There are rare individuals who anaphylax upon exposure in spite of NEGATIVE skin testing and RAST results.

As to the 'non-allergenic' peanut press releases floating around:

Please note this thread, which contains several links.

[url="http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum8/HTML/002099.html"]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/Forum8/HTML/002099.html[/url]

Hopefully this is helpful.

Paulette-Don't you work in the schools? Maybe you can direct these specific questions to your 504 coordinator to see which hoops they have parents jump through for the designation. I know you had an experience with one student who actually turned out not to have the allergy and you had gone to great measures to keep the students safe...am I right or confusing you with someone else?

Anyway...yes we provided lab results for DD, letters from 3 physicians, as well as her clearly documented history of anaphylaxis. She also had failed a food challenge for egg 1 yr before in a hospital.

I'm sure there are some parents out there who simply 'think' there child is allergic, but I think the majority of us here have witness our children react, as well as multiple lab tests that confirm. Not just one out of the blue test. I don't have my daughter tested for random foods.

I did see the Johns Hopkins study. It confirmed what I already suspected. It did not change anything for my family..and it doesn't change anything in terms of the school's obligations to provide safe measures.

This topic seems to stay with you, so I again would suggest you talk to your coworker/your school's 504 coordinator and get further clarification. You might want to ask what "proof" the school gets when designated 504s to children for other reasons or IEPs for children. Any blood test to confirm ADHD? Nope, they don't exist...How about for Bipolar Disorder--what is the child's blood work show---oh, again, there is no concrete "test". I could go on. I'll stop.

Thanks for sharing the article.
Nicole

Thanks CM...I'm reading those forwards and I appreciate your response. I get excited when I see any helpful/hopeful information like these 2 reports that I mentioned. Again...thanks