1802 – Supervised oral food challenge (OFC) in patients with suspected food allergy

Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy Limited

New Medicare Benefits Schedule item.

An oral food allergen challenge (OFC) is a procedure where small and gradually increasing amounts of the food a patient is allergic to, is fed to that patient whilst under medical supervision. The patient is monitored to determine if the food being tested causes an allergic reaction. OFC's are a four hour procedure as the patient must be closely observed during the administration of the food, and for at least 2 hours after the last dose of the food. OFC's are mainly used to confirm a diagnosis of food allergy when the patient's history or allergy tests are unclear, and to determine whether a patient has outgrown their food allergy.

Type: Investigative

An allergy occurs when a person's immune system reacts to substances that are harmless to most people. With food allergy, a person's immune system reacts to the protein (usually) in a food. When a person with food allergy eats food containing their allergen, they can develop an allergic reaction causing symptoms ranging from mild to moderate, or severe (known as anaphylaxis). Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency that needs immediate treatment with adrenaline (epinephrine). If left untreated, anaphylaxis can result in fatality. Food allergy can develop at any age. It occurs in around 10% of babies, 6.5% of children at 6 and 10 years of age, and about 5% of children at age 14. Although food allergy can be 'outgrown', around 2-4% of adults in Australia will still have a food allergy and some adults will develop a food allergy in their adult years. The most common food allergies are cow's milk (dairy), egg, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, soy, fish, shellfish and wheat.

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