New blood test almost 100 per cent accurate at detecting nut allergies

A trial by doctors at Guy’s at St Thomas’ Hospital in London has found that a new blood test, called the basophil activation test (BAT), is nearly 100 per cent accurate at spotting nut allergies.

Allergic reactions occur when the body’s immune system overreacts to a trigger, usually mediation, environmental or a food irritant, which causes the release of histamines, substances which try to rid the body of the allergen. This then leads to symptoms such as swelling and itchy rashes.

The most severe form of allergic reaction, anaphylaxis, can lead to life-threatening symptoms such as loss of consciousness and breathing difficulties.

The current testing methods, skin prick tests or blood tests, can often lead to inaccurate results and can lead to a high rate of false positive results, which mean an allergy is indicated when there isn’t one.

The new BAT test involves mixing a small amount of food the patient is thought to be allergic to, for example peanut protein, with a sample of their blood. The sample is then analysed to check the basophils, a type of white blood cell involved in food allergies. The test in particular detects the presence of a molecule called CD63 on the surface of the basophils, indicating that the patient is allergic to that particular type of food.

Graham Roberts, a consultant in paediatric allergy and respiratory medicine at University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, said “This is exciting as a lot of the time skin prick testing and IgE tests are inconclusive. BAT gives you more (and different) information, which is actually complementary.

“However, you need blood that has just been taken from the patient, and it needs to be run within a few hours of the blood being taken, so hospitals will need the right set-up to do this.

“But it can save children from doing challenges which can put the patient at risk.”

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Posted by Tony May, Partner/head of Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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