2.1. Study participants
Serum samples were collected from 57 egg-allergic and 23 healthy non-egg
allergic (non-egg allergy: NEA) children and stored at -80°C until
further analyzed. Egg-allergic children with EW-specific IgE levels
greater than 0.70 kUA/L and apparent allergic reactions after ingestion
of egg and egg products were enrolled in this study. The tolerated egg
dose for each patient was determined by oral food challenge and/or an
episode of accidental ingestion of cooked EW. The patients were
classified into three groups; 28 patients avoided all forms of egg in
the diet (complete avoidance of
egg: CAE), 18 patients were able to ingest at least 1/32 cooked whole
egg (low dose) but not one cooked whole egg (full dose)
(partial avoidance of egg: PAE)
,7 and eleven patients
outgrew egg allergy (OGE).
The study was approved by The Research Ethics Committee of University of
Fukui (#20110052), and written informed consent was obtained from the
parent or guardians.