Third of peanut allergies in baby study misdiagnosed: ADAPT Peanut Oral Immunotherapy Program
Families of children with peanut allergies could be shaping their lives around a misdiagnosis, with a surprising amount of babies in one study proving not to be allergic.
Families may be turning their lives and pantries upside down based on a wrongly suspected peanut allergy.
A study has found it safe to remove the diagnosis from a third of babies who had previously reacted to peanuts and were classified as allergic.
The results stemmed from a nationwide program designed to improve tolerance which began with an oral test to determine sensitivity.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Instead, when given the oral test, 35 per cent of 778 infants showed no reaction - much to the relief of parents.
Among them was one year-old Arthur Cameron, who had his suspected allergy diagnosis removed.
His mum Leah said she was relieved, not just to have satay chicken back on the menu, but that her son wouldn’t face a lifetime of potential serious complications.
“Being a first-time new mum there’s enough kind of stress and anxiety around having a child,” she told AAP.
“And then finding out he had this peanut allergy, it certainly made us worry a bit how we’ll manage this through his life.
“We really had to think and change our behaviour, checking food labelling and stuff like that, which was quite an adjustment.”
Arthur had reacted at around five months to being given peanut butter, breaking out in hives and becoming red in the face.
After a skin and blood test, parents Leah and Jake Cameron were told he had a high risk of reacting to peanut.
Despite his earlier side effects and allergy test results, Arthur tolerated being given peanut in the oral food challenge without reacting and his suspected peanut allergy label was removed.
“We were very surprised, but very ecstatic,” Leah said.
The study stemmed from the national ADAPT Peanut Oral Immunotherapy Program, launched in 2024 by the National Allergy Centre of Excellence and hosted at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.
Without it, children like Arthur likely would have continued to avoid peanut in case they triggered an allergic reaction.
Tim Brettig, the senior clinician involved with the study, said it wasn’t clear why some babies who had initially shown a sensitivity to peanuts no longer did.
“We expected some to tolerate peanut at a food challenge, but the rate’s much higher than we would have thought,” Dr Brettig told AAP.
“To get such a large number of infants not react and therefore not even need treatment because of an allergy was really exciting.”
The results suggest oral tests should potentially be considered in more cases than previously, however with the risks involved, still need to be conducted in controlled environments.
In the initial oral testing, while a third of babies didn’t react, 12 per cent had an anaphylactic reaction requiring treatment from nearby medical staff.
“It needs to be done in a controlled and safe way,” Dr Brettig said.
