Comparison of allergic skin prick test and MAST system in allergic rhinitis patients

Abstract

Background and objectives: For the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis, the skin test is the most common method. And recently MAST system is usually used for detection of serum specific IgE. The MAST system detects the specific IgE by use of an enzyme-labeled anti-IgE, and permits rapid,easy to perform, reproducible and cost effective results. We evaluate the relationship between allergic skin test and MAST system in allergic rhinitis patients. Materials and methods: In our studies, we evaluated results of allergic skin test and MAST to 11 species of allergens in 140 patients who were confirmed for allergic rhinitis. Results: The results came out good relationships between two different methods in allergens of D.pteronyssinus and D.farinae. Conclusions: This results suggested that the MAST system could offer a valuable method to detect specific IgE in perennial allergic rhinitis patients.