BDB Haemagglutination Applied to Food Allergy in Children

Abstract

Antibodies to cow''s milk and hen''s egg were determined in 50 cases with eczema, papular urticara, infantile diarrhea, recurrent abdominal pain and bronchial asthma in which the causative role of food allergens was confirmed clinically. The milk antibody titer was high when the allergen was milk, and the egg anti-body titer was high when the allergen was egg. Furthermore, in the cases allergic to milk as well as to egg, the antibodies against both of them had high titers. These results were derived mostly from children younger than 3-4 years of age. These findings, however, do not hold for older children with other types of food allergy. It is concluded that the BDB [bis-diazotized benzidine] hemagglutination test is helpful in allergen diagnosis in patients with food allergy in younger childhood.