Abstract
Background: Successful venom immunotherapy (VIT) in Hymenoptera allergy is usually associated with a strong increase in venom–specific serum IgG antibodies (sIgG). Methods: We evaluated a new commercial test for the assay of sIgG (Pharmacia CAP System™ IgG RAST<sup>®</sup> FEIA; FEIA), in comparison with a conventional ELISA technique. Sera from 40 bee– and 40 Vespula–allergic patients were analyzed by FEIA and ELISA before and 3 months after starting VIT. Results: The correlation between sIgG obtained with the two methods was significant: r = 0.862, p<0.0001 for bee venom (BV), r = 0.861, p<0.0001 for Vespula venom (VV). The geometric mean values obtained with FEIA were higher for both venoms (BV p = 0.03; VV p<0.01). A highly significant increase (p<0.0001) was observed during VIT with both methods. This increase was concordant in 93% of VV– and 90% of BV–treated patients. Intra– and interassay relative coefficients of variation were below 10% for FEIA. Conclusion: IgG RAST FEIA is a reproducible and sensitive method for the assay of venom–specific sIgG.
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