Prevalence of IgE-mediated sensitization in patients with suspected food allergic reactions in Jordan.

Background: Despite the recognition of food allergies as a significant cause of morbidity and a growing public health burden worldwide, there are no epidemiological studies addressing food sensitization and allergy in Jordan.

Objective: To conduct an epidemiological study that retrospectively analyzes sensitization data from 3463 patients with suspected immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergic reactions who performed specific IgE tests in our laboratories in Jordan.

Methods: Specific IgE (s-IgE) tests were analyzed for patients who performed enzyme allegro-sorbent testing based on either self-reported food allergy or upon physician's request.

Mast cell activation test in the diagnosis of allergic disease and anaphylaxis.

Background: Food allergy is an increasing public health issue and the most common cause of life-threatening anaphylactic reactions. Conventional allergy tests assess for the presence of allergen-specific IgE, significantly overestimating the rate of true clinical allergy and resulting in overdiagnosis and adverse effect on health-related quality of life.

Objective: To undertake initial validation and assessment of a novel diagnostic tool, we used the mast cell activation test (MAT).