Diagnostic performance of the atopy patch test with inhalant allergens

Background: this study evaluated the diagnostic performance of the atopy patch test (apt) compared with skin prick testing (spt) and in vitro ige measurement in a large group of patients with atopic dermatitis (ad) with or without respiratory symptoms (rs). methods: the study included 521 patients (292 males,229 females; age,0.5-18 years; median age,6 years) with ad and rs with different clinical presentations: current ad,47 patients (group a); current ad and rs,72 patients (group b),past ad and rs,69 patients (group c); and rs only,280 patients (group d). fifty-three healthy individuals served as controls. all participants underwent the apt,spt,and cap/rast with the most common inhalant allergens. the presence of a control group allowed calculation of specificity and positive and negative predictive values. results: a significant difference was found for a positive apt versus both spt and cap/rast (p<.0001) but not for spt versus cap/rast. the differences for apt were significant in all group comparisons except group b vs c and group c vs d. in the control group,the apt was positive in 2% of cases (specificity of 96.2%),spt was positive in 6% of cases (specificity of 88.4%),and cap/rast was positive in 4% of cases (specificity of 92.5%). conclusions: in young patients sensitized to inhalant allergens with ad in addition to rs,the apt has a superior diagnostic performance to spt and in vitro ige measurement. © 2015 esmon publicidad.