Educating families on the benefits of introducing foods following a negative oral food challenge (OFC) is an important factor contributing to successful reintroduction, according to a study published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. The study team aimed to determine the proportion of children who reintroduced peanut and/ or tree nuts following a negative OFC and to describe factors that influenced decisions regarding reintroduction or avoidance of non-allergic (negative) nuts. Families of children that had undergone an OFC for peanut or tree nuts were invited to participate; consenting families were sent an online questionnaire. More than 85% of respondents had introduced all or some of the negative nuts following the OFC and most had maintained at least some regular exposure in the child’s diet at the time of the study. The age at diagnosis of the nut allergy and an awareness of the benefit of introducing foods following a negative OFC were significantly associated with introducing negative nuts. The study team also observed improved QOL in those who introduced negative nuts.
