The correlation between skin tests, bronchial provocation tests and the serum level of IgE specific for common allergens in patients with asthma

Abstract

Summary Cutaneous and bronchial immediate allergic reactivity and the serum level of IgE specific for each of four common inhalant allergens were determined for 153 asthmatic patients. Positive bronchial reactivity to an extract was not detected in any of the patients with a negative prick test reaction to that extract but did occur in 9% of the patients in whom the serum tests results for IgE specific to that allergen fell within the range regarded as negative. Highly significant correlation coefficients between the degree of bronchial and cutaneous allergic reactivity to the allergen extracts were found and these were slightly but significantly less than the correlation between the serum level of allergen specific IgE and the degree of bronchial allergic reactivity to the allergen extracts. These findings indicate that the results both of prick testing with appropriate extracts and estimation of the serum level of allergen specific IgE can be used to predict not only the presence of detectable bronchial reactivity to inhalant allergens but also the degree of this reactivity. However, for the routine investigation of asthmatic patients measurement of the serum level of allergen specific IgE would appear to have little advantage over properly performed prick tests.

Bronchial lability and skin reactivity in siblings of asthmatic children.

“…The skin test reaction to specific allergens correlates well, however, with the bronchial reactivity to those allergens as determined by bronchial provocation tests. 12 Bronchial lability. Silverman and Anderson'3 showed that 70% of asthmatic children had a significant fall in peak expiratory flow rate after treadmill running.…”

IgE Bound to Mast Cells in Bronchial Mucosa and Skin in Atopic Subjects

“…In 14 of 38 pa tients with positive bronchial biopsies an identical mast cell titre was demonstrable in the skin; in 7 patients both the bronchus and the skin biopsies were negative. Highly significant correlation coefficients between the degree of bronchial and cutaneous al lergic reactivity to allergen extracts were found [4],…”

Functional response to inhaled salbutamol and/or ipratropium bromide in Ascaris suum-sensitised cats with allergen-induced bronchospasms

“…In humans, the degree of cutaneous allergic reactivity to allergen, evaluated by the skin-prick test, is known to correlate well with circulating levels of allergen-specific IgE in the serum, and these levels have shown high capability to predict airway responsiveness to allergen (Bryant et al, 1975;Bryant and Burns, 1976). In this study, we did not determine the degree of allergic sensitisation (evaluated by intradermal skin testing in small animals or by serum-specific IgE levels), although this could have been helpful to distinguish the high-from low-responders among the AS-sensitised cats.…”