Study Status: Completed
Recruit Status: Unknown status
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: Cow's Milk Allergy: Evaluation of the Efficacy of a New Thickened Extensively Hydrolyzed Formula (TeHF2013-01) in Infants With Confirmed Cow's Milk Protein Allergy
Brief Summary:
Cow's milk protein allergy is defined as an immunological reaction to one or more milk proteins. A variety of symptoms can be suggestive for cow's milk protein allergy . Cow's milk protein allergy is suspected clinically in 5-15% of infants, while most estimates of prevalence of cow's milk protein allergy vary from only 2 to 5 %. Confusion regarding cow's milk protein allergy prevalence is often due to differences in study populations, study design and a lack of defined diagnostic criteria. The importance of defined diagnostic criteria needs to be emphasised. It precludes infants from an unnecessary diet and avoids delay in diagnosis, which can lead to malnutrition.
There are two clinical types of cow's milk protein allergy: the immediate and the delayed type. The immediate type usually presents within minutes after the ingestion of cow's milk protein with urticaria, angio-oedema, vomiting or an acute flare of atopic dermatitis and is present in slightly more than half of the patients with cow's milk protein allergy. Delayed reactions such as atopic dermatitis or gastrointestinal symptoms like proctocolitis or enteropathy usually present after hours or days.
Immunologically, cow's milk protein allergy can be IgE or non-IgE mediated. IgE mediated reactions are often of the immediate type. Non-IgE mediated reactions are often cell mediated or mixed cell and IgE mediated and are more difficult to prove by specific testing. The immunological reaction differentiates cow's milk protein allergy from other milk induced pathology such as lactose intolerance.
A variety of symptoms can be suggestive for cow's milk protein allergy although none of them is diagnostic. A good medical history remains the cornerstone for the diagnosis.
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