Anaphylaxis to peanuts: clinical correlation to skin tests.

To determine the prevalence of peanut sensitivity in a group of patients referred for routine allergy evaluation, we skin tested 365 consecutive patients with a battery of extracts that included pollens, danders, mold, dust and peanuts. These patients were seen either in private practice or in the Allergy Clinic (Rhode Island Hospital). Of these 365 patients, 248 were found to be atopic. Eight patients had a positive scratch test to peanut extract, and four of these had a positive history of peanut sensitivity. One asymptomatic patient to peanut by history reacted to open challenge with 2 oz of peanut on two occasions. We, therefore, found that 3.2% (8 of 248) of our atopic patients had a positive skin test to peanuts and of these at least 62.5% (5 of 8) had clinical sensitivity to peanuts. No nonatopic patient reacted to peanut skin testing.