PurposeThe basophil activation test (BAT) has been used to monitor venom immunotherapy (VIT) due to its high specificity. A previous study has reported a good correlation between a significant decrease in basophil activation during 5 years of VIT and clinical protection assessed by sting challenge. The following prospective study was performed to examine changes in basophil reactivity over a complete VIT period of 5 years.MethodsBAT in a dose-response curve was studied prospectively in 10 hymenoptera venom-allergic patients over 5 years of VIT. BAT was performed at the time of diagnosis, 1 month after finishing the VIT build-up phase, and 3, 6, 12, 24, and 60 months after beginning treatment. The repeated measures ANOVA was applied to evaluate basophil activation changes throughout VIT. A cross-sectional study was also performed in 6 patients who received treatment for more than 3 years, and in another 12 patients who followed immunotherapy for at least 5 years.ResultsAn early activation decrease was observed during the first 3 months of treatment, compared to pre-treatment values. This activation decrease was not maintained 6 to 18 months after treatment, but was observed again after 2 years of treatment, and maintained until the completion of the 5-year immunotherapy period. In cross-sectional analysis, the 6 patients who received treatment for 3 years, and 9 of the 12 patients who received treatment for 5 years, had negative BAT results. Three patients in this last group had positive BAT results and 2 patients had systemic reactions after field stings.ConclusionsBAT appears to be an optimal non-invasive test for close monitoring of VIT.

Our findings suggest a direct association between aMCI and age, hypertension, atrial fibrillation depression, intima-media thickness, and WMHpv. Body mass index has a protective effect on this MCI subtype.

We report a case of anaphylaxis caused by cloxacillin in a 13-year-old patient. The basophil activation test, performed 25 days after the anaphylactic reaction, was positive to cloxacillin, amoxicillin, and penicillin G and negative to ibuprofen, tolerated by the patient. The analysis was performed 17 days after the reaction was not conclusive because 74% of the basophil population was activated in basal conditions. The abnormally high activation was similar to that found in an analysis before the reaction, exactly 4 days after finishing a well-tolerated treatment with amoxicillin. This first analysis was available because a patient's sample was taken from the emergency laboratory as a blind control for a study to assess the basophil activation test reliability in diagnosis of hypersensitivity to NSAIDs. The high number of activated basophils in basal conditions after treatment with amoxicillin and before the anaphylactic reaction to cloxacillin probably reflects the beginning of the sensitization. Until now, no cases of hypersensitivity to cloxacillin have been diagnosed by means of the basophil activation test.

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