2013 Volume 27 Issue 5 Pages 701-709
Purpose: We evaluated the efficacy of the original diet instructions that had been developed to enable patients to avoid milk elimination by monitoring the amount of safe milk ingestion.
Methods: Thirty-one children (median age: 45.0 months) with positive milk challenge tests were recruited in this study. Based on the threshold dose and the severity of symptoms observed during the challenge test, all of them fulfilled the criteria for initiating consumption of 2 ml or more of milk. We evaluated the patients' diet diary in the follow-up visit, and when they were able to consume the instructed dose five to 10 times without experiencing any adverse symptoms, then we allowed them to increase the dose by 10% to 20%. After one year, the tolerated dose of milk was evaluated. As a control group, a retrospective chart review was performed for the 31 patients who underwent milk challenges before the present study and fulfilled the comparative criteria of the challenge results.
Results: The subjects were able to increase the dose of milk without experiencing any serious symptoms at home. After one year, 11 children (35.5%) were consuming 50 ml or more of milk. Only one patient remained who consumed less than 5 ml of milk; this number was significantly less than that observed in the control group (eight patients, p<0.05).
Conclusion: The quantitative diet instructions were found to be safe and effective for enabling patients to avoid complete elimination and thereby gradually increase their milk intake.
