Standards of Care Committee

The Standards of Care Committee (SOCC) has had a busy few months. The BSACI guidelines on Pollen Food Syndrome (led by Dr Isabel Skypala) and Penicillin Allergy (led by Dr Louise Savic) were published in Clinical & Experimental Allergy in 2022. s

Isabel Skypala Consultant Allergy Dietician, Royal Brompton Hospital; Co-Chair of Standards of Care Committee

A working group for a new guideline on allergy to Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAID) has been established and led by Dr Rita Mirakian. The guideline has been written and is currently being reviewed. Working groups for two new guidelines have also been set up; these are on Idiopathic Anaphylaxis, led by Dr Andrew White, and Emerging Food Allergens, led by Dr Isabel

Skypala. The latter guideline includes stakeholders from the British Dietetic Association and the Food Standards Agency. In addition to guidelines, SOCC has developed a plan to write some short Clinical Practice Statements. The first two will cover oral food challenge and Lipid Transfer Protein allergy and working groups are being established for both of these. The committee has also changed the way it reviews outputs from other groups, with two or three members providing feedback, followed by SOCC approval and this will be the model going forwards. All SOCC members have provided excellent support and feedback for all projects. The Committee is indebted to Dr Shifa Shaikh, the Chief Scientific Officer of the BSACI for her invaluable assistance and also to Dr David Luyt, SOCC co-chair who stepped down from the role in May 2023.