The effect of age, sex, race/ethnicity, health insurance, and food specific serum immunoglobulin E on outcomes of oral food challenges.

Background: Although oral food challenge (OFC) is an important clinical procedure for diagnosing food allergy, there is a paucity of literature on the outcome of the procedure and specifically the patients on whom the procedure is performed from the aspects of their age, sex, race/ethnicity, health insurance status, and serum specific IgE to the food tested.

Objective: We aimed to review results of OFC and determine the impact of patient age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance status, private or public, and food specific serum IgE on the outcome of OFC.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of patients undergoing OFCs at a children's hospital outpatient allergy clinic over a two-year period.

Maternal somatic symptoms, psychosocial correlates, and subsequent pediatric emergency department use.

Background: Somatization is associated with increased health care use in adults. Whether mothers with somatic symptoms use more health care resources for their children has not been investigated.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the association of maternal somatic symptoms and emergency department (ED) use.