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Evaluation of a point‐of‐care immunodot assay for predicting results of allergen‐specific intradermal and immunoglobulin E serological tests
Author(s) -
OLIVRY THIERRY,
JACKSON HILARY A.,
MURPHY K. MARCY,
TATER KATHY C.,
ROBERTS MALCOLM
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
veterinary dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.744
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1365-3164
pISSN - 0959-4493
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3164.2005.00442.x
Subject(s) - serology , medicine , antibody , point of care testing , allergen , immunology , virology , allergy
Immunotherapy to prevent recurrence of clinical signs of atopic dermatitis (AD) is based on intradermal or serological tests that assist in identifying allergen‐specific immunoglobulin E hypersensitivities. Unfortunately, the results of such tests can be negatively influenced by several factors, which include the age of the patients, the season of testing and the administration of anti‐allergic drugs. Screening to predict when these expensive tests will be useful would benefit owners of dogs with AD. The objectives of this study were to determine whether a point‐of‐care allergen‐specific immunodot assay (Allercept E‐Screen©, Heska Corp., Ft Collins, CO, USA) could predict results of either intradermal or Allercept© full panel serological tests in atopic dogs. Thirty dogs living in the south‐eastern USA were diagnosed with AD in accordance with current standards. Allergen‐specific intradermal, serological and E‐Screen© tests were performed in all subjects. For flea, house dust mite and pollen allergens altogether, results of the E‐Screen© assay agreed with those of intradermal and serological tests in 26/30 dogs (87%) and 25/30 dogs (83%), respectively. In this group of dogs, the probabilities of obtaining intradermal or serological tests positive for these allergens were 70 and 67%, respectively. If either skin or serum tests were performed only in dogs with positive E‐Screen© tests, the probability of obtaining positive results would be increased from 70 to 95% and from 67 to 90%, respectively. In this population of dogs with AD, results of the E‐Screen© point‐of‐care immunodot assay was found to often agree with those of allergen‐specific intradermal or Allercept© tests for selected allergen groups.