Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: The causes of chronic diarrhea in children are complex.
At present, food allergy is generally viewed as an important cause
of this disorder, and IgG-mediated delayed allergy plays a major
role in this process. This study aimed to explore the link between
food specific IgG and chronic diarrhea in children, as well as the
value of food allergens-specific IgG antibody detection in the
management of this disorder.
METHODS: Eighty-two children with
chronic diarrhea and 30 healthy controls were enrolled. Serum levels
of specific IgG antibody to 14 kinds of food were detected using
ELISA. The results were classified into four grades: Grade 0
(negative), Grade 1 (mild allergy), Grade 2 (moderate allergy) and
Grade 3 (severe allergy). The patients received a diet treatment
based on the results of food specific IgG antibody detection.
Children with negative IgG antibody were allowed to continue their
current diet. In children with Grade 1 allergy, the food responsible
for the IgG antibody positive test was given only at an interval of
four days. In children with Grade 2 or 3, the offending food was
eliminated from the diet.
RESULTS: Of the 82 children with chronic
diarrhea, 79 (96.2%) had increased specific IgG levels for one or
more of the 14 foods tested compared to 8 (26.7%) of the controls (P
<0.01). The majority of patients showed increased specific IgG
levels for milk (68.3%) and egg (62.2%). A low proportion of
patients (2.4%) was allergic to chicken, and no patient was allergic
to pork. The symptoms were improved in 65 patients (79.3%) after 1
week to 3 months of diet treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: Food allergy is one
of major causes of chronic childhood diarrhea. Food specific IgG
antibody detection may assist in the dietary management of this
disorder.
