Food allergy : practical diagnosis and management

Food allergy has increased over the past two decades, with a larger number of patients presenting a myriad of related symptoms and illnesses to physicians and allied health professionals. The growing number of patients poses a challenge to health care providers and confirms the need for developing best clinical practice guidelines. Based on the Expert Panel Report from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Food Allergy: Practical Diagnosis and Management brings to life the developed guidelines with chapters written by international leaders in food allergy clinical care, research, and education, including most of the report's primary authors. Offering practical advice, each chapter provides clinically relevant information for everyday diagnosis and management of food allergies and related adverse reactions to foods. Chapters begin with clinical questions to focus readers and contain numerous case studies and "Clinical Pearls" to help formulate best practice approaches to patient care. The text provides information that is relevant for diagnosis, organ or diagnosis-specific concerns, daily management, and topics of importance for patient understanding and management of food allergies. Chapters cover clinical manifestations, triggers and cross-reactivity, acute reactions, and skin, gastrointestinal, and respiratory conditions associated with food allergy. Authors address diagnostic testing, pharmacologic reactions, allergy prevention, and the natural history of common food allergies. They also consider novel approaches to diagnosis and therapy for immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergy. The final chapter presents practical resources for physicians and patients, including materials for advising newly diagnosed patients and resources for managing food allergies at home, school, camp, restaurants, and while traveling.