FOOD-INDUCED CONTACT URTICARIA SYNDROME (CUS) IN ATOPIC-DERMATITIS - REPRODUCIBILITY OF REPEATED AND DUPLICATE TESTING WITH A SKIN PROVOCATION TEST, THE SKIN APPLICATION FOOD TEST (SAFT)
Ap. Oranje et al., FOOD-INDUCED CONTACT URTICARIA SYNDROME (CUS) IN ATOPIC-DERMATITIS - REPRODUCIBILITY OF REPEATED AND DUPLICATE TESTING WITH A SKIN PROVOCATION TEST, THE SKIN APPLICATION FOOD TEST (SAFT), Contact dermatitis, 31(5), 1994, pp. 314-318
IgE-mediated contact urticaria syndrome (CUS) is one of the manifestat
ions of allergy in childhood atopic dermatitis (AD). Allergens such as
foods and animal products penetrate the skin easily. They can then ca
use urticarial reactions in sensitized individuals. A provocation test
system for foods, called the skin application food test (SAFT), has b
een developed. Over more than 5 years, a group of 175 patients with AD
was built-up and investigated in a prospective follow-up study with S
AFT. SAFT was more frequently positive in AD children aged 0-2 years t
han in older children. In several children of this population (Group 1
), we repeated SAFT within a period of 1 year. In another unrelated gr
oup of children (Group 2-1), we compared the results of 'original' SAF
T and SAFT using square chambers (Van der Bend) or Silver patches. In
the 3rd group (Group 2-2) we compared 'original' SAFT with SAFT using
big Finn Chambers. The agreement between the tests was high: in Group
1, we observed 88 to 93% concordant scores, and in Group 2, the scores
were 96% to 100%. Statistically, the kappa coefficient ranged from 0.
71-0.87 in Group 1, and from 0.83-1.00 in Group 2. SAFT is therefore h
ighly reproducible. Agreement was at least greater than or equal to 88
% between the scores (the lowest kappa value observed was at least 0.7
1).