Referral criteria from primary care - food allergy

Referral to secondary or specialist care

Based on the allergy-focused clinical history, consider referral to secondary or specialist care in any of the following circumstances

The child or young person has:

• faltering growth in combination with one or more of the gastrointestinal symptoms
  • gastrointestinal

• or not responded to a single-allergen elimination diet, or
  
  
• had one or more acute systemic reactions, or
  
  
• had one or more severe delayed reactions, or
  
  
• has confirmed IgE-mediated food allergy and concurrent asthma , or
  
  
• has significant atopic eczema where multiple or cross-reactive food allergies are suspected by the parent or carer

Referral for specialist advice is also indicted if either there is:

• persisting parental suspicion of food allergy (especially in children or young people with difficult or perplexing symptoms) despite a lack of supporting history, or
• strong clinical suspicion of IgE-mediated food allergy but allergy test results are negative, or
• clinical suspicion of multiple food allergies
  
  
  
  

Reference:

• 1) NICE (February 2011).Food allergy in children and young people Diagnosis and assessment of food allergy in children and young people in primary care and community settings