Ultrasound screening for milk allergy in infants

Doppler ultrasound could be used as a screening tool to diagnose children with cow's milk allergy, based on the findings of a study recently published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.

The study included 17 infants aged between 0 and 6 months with suspected cow's milk allergy, as well as 17 non-symptomatic age-matched infants. An investigator who was unaware of the infants' allergy status determined the percentage of vessel density and the thickness of different parts of the bowel using gray-scale and colour Doppler ultrasound.

Ultrasound was carried out at three time points across the study: following presentation, after 4 weeks of feeding only amino acid–based formula, and after a challenge test. The difference in the percentage of vessel density between patients with cow’s milk allergy and control infants was statistically significant. Statistical differences were also found in the thickness of the bowel wall of control patients compared to patients with cow's milk allergy.

Reference: Epifanio et al. 2011. American Journal of Roentgenology. Vol. 196 pp. W817-W822 DOI:10.2214/AJR.10.5840