Home Current issue Archives Editorial staff For Authors For Reviewers For Sponsors Contact

Vol 25. no 2
June 2020

Assessment of skin prick tests and sIgE measurement performance in the diagnosis of (summary)
Bartosz Szmyd, Małgorzata Biedrzycka, Magdalena Rogut, Gabriela Daszkiewicz, Judyta Hałucha, Marcin Kaszkowiak, Marek L. Kowalski, Marcin Kurowski
Skin prick test (SPT) and assessment of specific IgE (sIgE) in peripheral blood samples are routinely used in the diagnosis of allergy. As current literature indicates significant differences in sensitivity and specificity of SPT and sIgE, we decided on assessment of their performance in the diagnosis of food and inhalant allergy using methods available at our department. Material and methods. We performed retrospective analysis of medical records of 212 patients (42% men; age 4-80 years) diagnosed at Department of Immunology and Allergy. Results of both SPT and sIgE assessment for ≥1 food allergen were obtained for 51 patients (total: 254 tests pairs). The statistical analysis was conducted using Statistica 13.1PL. Results. SPT revealed slightly higher specificity (88.60% vs. 81.25%) and lower sensitivity (38.75% vs. 58.90%) in comparison to sIgE examination among patient with suspicion of food allergy. The opposite tendency was observed for inhaled allergens (specificity: 51.27% vs. 57.89%; sensitivity: 94.12% vs. 68.42%). The results of both tests were positive for 41.7% patients with a positive history of food allergy and 66.7% for inhalant allergy. In patients with food allergy SPT enabled allergy diagnosis among >60% allergy patients, when sIgE assessment among >80%; SPT and SIgE were diagnostic in >95% and >70% patients with inhalant allergy, respectively. Mean wheal diameter significantly correlates with sIgE concentration for inhaled allergens. Conclusions. Our results indicate differential immune response to inhaled and food allergens as reflected by sIgE in the skin and in serum. We suggest that both SPT and in vitro tests should be performed during the diagnosis of food, but not inhalant allergy.
Keywords: food allergy, skin prick test, sIgE
Home Current Issue Archves Editorial Staff For Authors For Reviewers For Sponsors Contact