title: Choosing wisely in Allergology: a Slow Medicine approach to the discipline promoted by the Italian Society of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (SIAAIC).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One of the main problem health care systems are facis is the mis-use and over-use of medical resources (including useless exams, surgical interventions, medical treatments, screening procedures…) which may lead to high health care related costs without increased patients' benefit and possible harm to the patients themselves. The "Choosing wisely" campaign, in Italy denominated "Doing more does not mean doing better", tries to educate doctors and citizens at a correct use of medical resources.
  
  
  METHODS
  the Italian Society of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (SIAAIC) adhered to the "Doing more does not mean doing better" campaing and made a list of the 5 allergological procedures with the highest evidence of inappropriateness.
  
  
  RESULTS
  the 5 recommendations were: "Do not perform allergy tests for drugs (including anhestetics) and/or foods when there are neither clinical history nor symptoms suggestive of hypersensitivity reactions"; "Do not perform the so-called "food intolerance tests" (apart from those which are validated for suspect celiac disease or lactose enzymatic intolerance)"; "Do not perform serological allergy tests (i.e.: total IgE, specific IgE, ISAC) as first-line tests or as "screening" assays"; "Do not treat patients sensitized to allergens or aptens if there is not a clear correlation between exposure to that specific allergen/apten and symptoms suggestive of allergic reaction"; "Do not diagnose asthma without having performed lung function tests".
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An important role scientific societies should play is to advise on correct diagnostic and therapeutical pathways. For this reason SIAAIC decided to adhere to the Slow Medicine Italy campaign "Doing more does not mean doing better" with the aim of warning the scientific community and the citizens/patients about some allergological procedures, which, when performed in the wrong clinical setting, may be not only useless, but unnecessarily expensive and even harmful for patients' health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Enrico
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Heffler
authors.affiliation: Pediatrician Primary Care, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landi
authors.affiliation: "Change" Institute, Turin, Italy ; "Slow Medicine Italy", Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quadrino
authors.affiliation: Allergy/Pulmonary Rehabilitation, ICP Hospital, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristoforo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Incorvaia
authors.affiliation: ASL-TO3, Allergy Outpatients' Clinic, "Edoardo Agnelli" Hospital, Pinerolo, TO Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pizzimenti
authors.affiliation: "Slow Medicine Italy", Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vernero
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Respiratory Medicine and Allergy, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
authors.forename: Nunzio
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Crimi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Sciences, Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rolla
authors.affiliation: Allergy and Respiratory Diseases Clinic, DIMI-Department of Internal Medicine, IRCCS AOU S.Martino-IST, Genoa, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio Walter
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Canonica
keywords: Allergy; Appropriateness; Asthma; Chossing wisely; Food allergy; Slow medicine