Allergy Diagnosis in Children and Adults

Bibliographic Details
Title: Allergy Diagnosis in Children and Adults
Authors: Gunilla Hedlin, MD, Carmen Moreno, MD, Carl Johan Petersson, PhD, Gunnar Lilja, MD, Félix Lorente Toledano, MD, Antonio Nieto García, MD, Lennart Nordvall, MD, Mona Palmqvist, MD, Sabina Rak, MD, Staffan Ahlstedt, PhD, Magnus P. Borres, MD
Source: World Allergy Organization Journal, Vol 2, Iss 7, Pp 138-143 (2009)
Publisher Information: Elsevier, 2009.
Publication Year: 2009
Collection: LCC:Immunologic diseases. Allergy
Subject Terms: Immunologic diseases. Allergy, RC581-607
More Details: Background Allergy is a serious problem affecting approximately 1 of 4 individuals. The symptoms with and without allergy etiology are often difficult to distinguish from each other without using an IgE antibody test. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of a new point-of-care (POC) test for IgE antibodies to relevant allergens in Europe.Methods IgE antibodies from children and adults with allergies recruited from allergy clinics in Sweden and Spain were analyzed for 10 allergens, suitable for the age groups, using the new POC test and ImmunoCAP laboratory test. The IgE antibody level best discriminating between positive and negative results (the cutoff point) for the different allergens of the POC test and the efficacy of the POC and the ImmunoCAP laboratory tests for diagnosing allergy compared with that of clinical diagnosis were investigated.Results The estimated cutoffs for the different allergens in the POC test ranged from 0.70 to 2.56 kUA/L. Taking into account all positive allergen results in a given patient, the POC test could identify 95% of the patients with allergies. Seventy-eight percent of the allergen-specific physicians' diagnoses were identified and 97% of the negative ones. Most allergens exhibited good performance, identifying about 80% of clinically relevant cases. However, dog, mugwort, and wall pellitory would benefit from improvement.Conclusions The POC test will be a valuable adjunct in the identification or exclusion of patients with allergies and their most likely offending allergens, both in specialist and general care settings. Keywords: IgE antibody allergy diagnosis, point-of-care test
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 1939-4551
Relation: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S193945511930537X; https://doaj.org/toc/1939-4551
DOI: 10.1097/WOX.0b013e3181aed85c
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/5a261464d48844f7bca716ec06c2b703
Accession Number: edsdoj.5a261464d48844f7bca716ec06c2b703
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
More Details
ISSN:19394551
DOI:10.1097/WOX.0b013e3181aed85c
Published in:World Allergy Organization Journal
Language:English