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The Use of Epicutaenous Patch Testing in the Evaluation of Gastrointestinal Disease

  • Contact Dermatitis (S Jacob, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Opinion statement

Traditionally, gastrointestinal (GI) diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux, gastritis, esophagitis, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) have not been thought of as hypersensitivity (allergy)-mediated illnesses; however, there has been growing research suggesting that food and environmental allergens may play a role in the development of GI illnesses, particularly those with refractory symptoms not responding to traditional therapies. The GI system and skin share similar components of the immune system and in some cases respond to foreign antigens in the same manner. With respect to confirmatory diagnostic testing, the skin is the more easily accessible organ compared to the gastrointestinal system. Patch testing is a well-established standardized non-invasive skin based test utilized for the evaluation of hypersensitivity reactions to antigenic triggers. There is growing evidence that patch testing may be helpful in the diagnostic evaluation of gastrointestinal manifestations of immune-mediated diseases. We predict that further utilization of the standard patch test in the diagnostic assessment of patients with GI symptomatology will prove useful for the identification of specific allergens and etiologic agents responsible for gastrointestinal type IV hypersensitivity reactions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Weill Cornell Medical College, 1305 York Ave 9th floor, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Brienne D. Cressey MD, MBA, Cindy Parra BA & Jonathan Hale Zippin MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Brienne D. Cressey MD, MBA
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  2. Cindy Parra BA
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  3. Jonathan Hale Zippin MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Jonathan Hale Zippin MD, PhD.

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Dr. Brienne D. Cressey, Ms. Cindy Parra, and Dr. Jonathan Hale Zippin declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Contact Dermatitis

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Cressey, B.D., Parra, C. & Zippin, J.H. The Use of Epicutaenous Patch Testing in the Evaluation of Gastrointestinal Disease. Curr Treat Options Allergy 3, 376–383 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40521-016-0104-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40521-016-0104-2

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