Intradermal Testing Doubles Identification of Allergy among 110 Immunotherapy-Responsive Patients with Eustachian Tube Dysfunction

Diagnostics

BruceR. Gordon¹  DavidS. Hurst²  AlanB. McDaniel³  DennisS. Poe⁴ 

[1] Department of Laryngology & Otology, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02114, USA;Department of Otolaryngology, Tufts University, Boston 02111, MA, USA;Department of Otolaryngology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40202, USA;Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA;

关键词: eustachian tube dysfunction;    otitis media;    skin prick test;    asthma;    allergic rhinitis;    allergy testing;   

DOI  :  10.3390/diagnostics11050763

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the sensitivity advantage of intradermal dilutional testing (IDT) is clinically relevant in patients with obstructive Eustachian tube dysfunction (ETD) or otitis media with effusion (OME). This retrospective, private-practice cohort study compared the sensitivity of skin prick tests (SPT) vs. IDT in 110 adults and children with suspected allergy and OME. Primary outcome measure was symptom resolution from allergy immunotherapy (AIT). IDT identified 57% more patients as being allergic, and 8.6 times more reactive allergens than would have been diagnosed using only SPT. Patients diagnosed by IDT had the same degree of symptom improvement from immunotherapy, independent of allergen sensitivity (66% by SPT vs. 63% by IDT; p = 0.69, not different). Low-sensitivity allergy tests, which may fail to identify allergy in over two thirds of children aged 3 to 15 as being atopic, or among 60% of patients with ETD, may explain why many physicians do not consider allergy as a treatable etiology for their patient’s OME/ETD. IDT offers superior sensitivity over SPT for detecting allergens clinically relevant to treating OME/ETD. These data strongly support increased utilization of intradermal testing and invite additional clinical outcome studies.

【 授权许可】

Unknown