title: The study of egg allergy in children with atopic dermatitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  : Food allergy plays a significant pathogenic role among children with atopic dermatitis (AD).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  : The aims of this study were to evaluate allergy to egg in these children and determine the egg specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) cutoff point.
  
  
  METHODS
  : It was a cross-sectional study that took place at Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute from 2005 to 2007.
  
  
  METHODS
  : Children younger than 14 years old with AD entered the study. Careful medical histories were taken and skin prick and Immuno-CAP tests with the most commonly offending foods (cow's milk, egg, wheat, peanut, and soy) were performed. Children with a clear, positive history of food allergy and a positive IgE-mediated test or those with positive responses to both IgE-mediated tests were determined to have food allergies. The egg-specific IgE level cutoff point was determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  : A hundred patients entered the study (from 2 months to 12 years old). They were divided into 3 age groups: first <2 years, second from 2 to <6 years, and third from 6 to 14 years. The most common food allergens were egg (39.22%) in the first, cow's milk (35.13%) and egg (32.43%) in the second, and peanut (25%) and egg (16.67%) in the third group. The egg-specific IgE cutoff point value was 0.62 kUA/L (kilounits of allergen-specific IgE per liter). The positive predictive value was 95%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  : Prevalence of egg allergy is highly significant in patients with AD.To use egg-specific IgE level cutoff point, the patient population under study must be considered.
authors.affiliation: From the 1Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Department of Immunology, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Tahmineh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Salehi
authors.forename: Zahra
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Pourpak
authors.forename: Shahnaz
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karkon
authors.forename: Raheleh Shokouhi
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Shoormasti
authors.forename: Samineh Kamali
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sabzevari
authors.forename: Masoud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Movahedi
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gharagozlou
authors.forename: Mostafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moin