Abstract: [Abstract PURPOSE: To evaluate the role of food-specific IgG antibody test in the treatment of mild recurrent aphthous ulcer. METHODS: Seven hundred and ninety nine mild recurrent aphthous ulcer patients and 762 normal persons were enrolled in the experimental and control group respectively, based on the criteria for inclusion and exclusion. The blood serum samples of them were obtained to detect food-specific IgG antibody by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The positive rates were then compared by Chi-square test between 2 groups using SPSS 17.0 software package. The experimental group was further analyzed based on age, gender, course, interval period, number of ulcer, allergy history, etc. Food rotation was applied in strong positive patients for food-specific IgG antibody. RESULTS: The positive rate was 45.2% in the experimental group and 40.9% in the control group(P=0.101). The positive rate was significantly higher in young patients (51.3%) and patients with short interval (83.9%). Food rotation could prolong the interval period from 13.00 days to 14.77 days in general but did not reduce the ulcer number significantly. CONCLUSIONS: Food-specific IgG antibody test may be helpful for the treatment of young or frequent patients with mild recurrent aphthous ulcer.

Key words: Recurrent aphthous ulcer, Food intolerance, Food allergy, Food rotation