Detection of Anaphylaxis Through the Cutaneous Barrier

The capacity to rapidly and objectively detect impending anaphylaxis is a crucial unmet need in food allergy, as clinical impression remains the only means of anaphylaxis diagnosis. Changes in the cutaneous barrier during an allergic reaction might offer an objective, rapid, and accessible anaphylaxis detection method.

Changes in cutaneous temperature and skin permeability might serve as markers of anaphylaxis. Existing methods around facial thermography, cutaneous blood flow measurements, electrical impedance spectroscopy, and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) offer varied data as possible food anaphylaxis biomarkers. Further data is needed to validate these and other methods as a means to non-invasively detect anaphylaxis. This review describes key advances in anaphylaxis detection through the cutaneous barrier, most notably around skin barrier function in the context of atopic dermatitis and food allergy.