Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the roles of food allergen detection in patients with chronic urticaria. Methods Food allergen-specific IgE and IgG were detected in 502 patients with chronic urticaria and 100 normal human controls. Double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge （DBPCFC） test was performed in patients who were proved to be positive or negative for food-specific IgG or IgE. Results Food-specific IgE was detected in 37.45％ （188/502） of the patients, with cashew, peanuts and soybeans as the most common allergens. The detection rate of food-specific IgG was 72.11％ （361/502）, with the major allergens being milk, egg, shrimp and crab. DBPCFC revealed false positivity and negativity in the detection of food-specific IgG and IgE. Conclusions Clinicians should pay attention to food allergen detection in the treatment of chronic urticaria, especially in the treatment of allergy mediated by IgG antibodies.

Key words: specific IgG