NASAL CHALLENGE TESTS WITH FLOUR EXTRACTS

124 persons occupationally exposed to flour dust in bakeries and confe ctioneries underwent clinical and allergological investigations as wel l as nasal allergen challenge tests. Out of the asymptomatic group wit h negative skin test and EAST results 18% had false positive rhinomano metric results in the allergen challenge tests. Subjects with contradi ctionary findings in the case history, prick test and EAST showed a si milar proportion of negative allergen challenges. Out of the group rep orting work-related symptoms and responding in the prick test and EAST to occupational allergens, only 11% had a positive and 89% had a nega tive challenge test. When compared to rhinomanometry, clinical recordi ng of symptoms was somewhat more reliable. Our results show that nasal challenges with commercially available flour extracts are not qualifi ed for clinical evaluation of the actual relevance of sensitization ag ainst components of flour dust.