Background: Double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges are time-consuming, expensive and not without risk to patients. Therefore, an in vitro test that could accurately diagnose food allergy would be of great value.
Objective: To evaluate the utility of the ratio of specific immunoglobulin E (IgE)/total IgE compared with specific IgE (sIgE) alone in predicting symptomatic food allergy.
Methods: We retrospectively analysed 992 controlled oral food challenges performed in 501 children (median age 13 months). The ratio of sIgE/total IgE was calculated and tested for correlation with the outcome of food challenges. Receiver operator characteristics (ROC)-curves were performed; predicted probabilities and predictive decision points were calculated.
Results: A significant correlation was found between the ratio and the outcome of food challenges for cow's milk (CM), hen's egg (HE), and wheat, but not for soy. The ROC and predicted probability curves as well as sensitivity and specificity of the decision points of the ratio were similar to those of sIgE levels for CM, HE and wheat.
Conclusion: In view of the greater effort needed to determine the ratio, without benefit compared with the sIgE alone, the calculation of the ratio of sIgE/total IgE for diagnosing symptomatic food allergy offers no advantage for CM, HE, wheat or soy. For the majority of cases controlled oral food challenges still remain the method of choice.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1398-9995.2005.00806.x | DOI Listing |
JAMA
January 2025
Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Washington, DC.
Importance: Health information technology, such as electronic health records (EHRs), has been widely adopted, yet accessing and exchanging data in the fragmented US health care system remains challenging. To unlock the potential of EHR data to improve patient health, public health, and health care, it is essential to streamline the exchange of health data. As leaders across the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), we describe how DHHS has implemented fundamental building blocks to achieve this vision.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer Control
January 2025
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, AlMaarefa University, Dariyah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Introduction: Cancer patients often face challenges in managing their disease, particularly with regard to contraindications related to medications, foods, and physical activity, which can negatively affect treatment outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate cancer patients' awareness of these contraindications and to explore the influence of sociodemographic factors, support systems, comorbidities, and medication use on their knowledge.
Methods: A cross-sectional prospective study was conducted with 125 cancer patients in Saudi Arabia between December 2022 and February 2023.
Anal Methods
November 2017
Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Nitric oxide (NO) is an important signaling molecule that is involved in stress response, homeostasis, host defense, and cell development. In most cells, NO levels are in the femtomolar to micromolar range, with extracellular concentrations being much lower. Thus, real time measurement of spatiotemporal NO dynamics near the surface of living cells/tissues is a major challenge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEur J Clin Nutr
January 2025
Division of Gastroenterology (Liver Unit), Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
The accurate assessment of body composition in cirrhosis is challenging as fluid accumulation affects most techniques. The whole-body counter is a state-of-the-art method that measures total body potassium (TBK) unbiased by fluid, from which body cell mass (BCM) is derived. This pilot study in 20 patients with cirrhosis evaluated bedside tools including the liver frailty index (LFI), bioimpedance analysis-based phase angle, calf circumference (CC), and BMI (body mass index)/edema-adjusted CC, and explored their association with TBK and BCM.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNPJ Digit Med
January 2025
Department of Physics and Astronomy "Galileo Galilei", University of Padua, Padova, Italy.
Digital twins (DTs) in precision medicine are increasingly viable, propelled by extensive data collection and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), alongside traditional biomedical methodologies. We argue that including mechanistic simulations that produce behavior based on explicitly defined biological hypotheses and multiscale mechanisms is beneficial. It enables the exploration of diverse therapeutic strategies and supports dynamic clinical decision-making through insights from network science, quantitative biology, and digital medicine.
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