THE POSITION OF THE DIPSTICK ALLERGODIP BY IN-VITRO ALLERGY DIAGNOSIS- RESULTS OF A FIELD-STUDY

In contrast to classical in vitro allergy-diagnostic tests dipstick sy stems do not require the use of complicated apparatus for the determin ation of specific IgE in sera of allergic patients. The handling is ve ry easy. Allergodip is a new development in the area of dipstick techn ology. A field study was conducted with a pilot batch in order to asse ss the potential of this test system. The concordance between data of Allergodip with the classical EAST and CAP methods was greater than or equal to 77% for the tested allergens. Furthermore, there was a good concordance with skin prick test results, varrying between 67 - 100%. Whilst skin test results may be influenced by the administration of an tihistamines, our investigation of sera collected from patients who ha d swallowed antihistamines showed that the Allergodip results were not influenced. Both sera and plasma can be used for the measurements. Du e to these data and data obtained from other centers Allergodip can be seen as a significant addition to allergy diagnosis.