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Reproducibility of Skin Sensitivity Using a Quantitative Skin Prick Test
Author(s) -
Malling H.J.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.363
H-Index - 173
eISSN - 1398-9995
pISSN - 0105-4538
DOI - 10.1111/j.1398-9995.1985.tb02678.x
Subject(s) - reproducibility , histamine , coefficient of variation , medicine , titration , allergy , skin test , skin reaction , anesthesia , dermatology , pharmacology , chemistry , chromatography , immunology , pathology , inorganic chemistry , tuberculosis
The reproducibility of repeated quantitative skin prick test titrations was evaluated in seven asthmatic patients tested 2–4 times within 6 weeks. The skin sensitivity was estimated as endpoint titration and histamine equivalent reaction using both 1 and 10 mg/ml histamine dihydrochloride. The histamine equivalent reaction had a significantly higher reproducibility compared to endpoint titration, with a coefficient of variation less than 10% for histamine 10 mg/ml. Further, using this histamine concentration, the deviation in repeated testing was for practical purposes less than 0.5 log step. The same constancy in skin sensitivity was found in one patient tested 3 times and then retested another 3 times 6 months later by a different tester. The results indicate that the quantitative skin prick test and histamine‐estimated skin sensitivity have a clinical application in the assessment of pharmacologically or immunotherapy‐induced changes in the releasability of skin mast cells.