In vitro detection and analysis of allergen-specific IgE antibodies in 2 036 patients with allergic diseases

Abstract

Objective To detect allergen-specific IgE (sIgE)antibodies in patients with allergic diseases and to assess their clinical relevance.Methods Serum samples were collected from 2 036 outpatients with allergic diseases (including 163 cases of atopic dermatitis,268 eczema,1 522 urticaria,61 allergic rhinitis,22 allergic asthma) as well as 142 healthy human controls.Immunoblotting was performed to detect sIgE antibodies in these samples.A survey was conducted with a self-designed questionnaire to assess clinical reactivity to tested allergens in these subjects.Results The proportions of patients with a sIgE score of grade ≥ 2 and those with a sIgE score of grade ≥ 3 were 54.60％ and 38.04％ in patients with atopic dermatitis,respectively,significantly higher than those in patients with eczema (35.07％ and 20.15％,respectively,both P ＜ 0.001)and patients with urticaria (36.47％ and 19.05％,respectively,both P ＜ 0.001).The coincidence rate between sIgE detection results and self-reported allergy was 61.11％ and 83.05％ in atopic dermatitis patients with a sIgE score of grade 3 and grade ≥ 4,respectively,significantly higher than that in eczema patients (9.61％ and 14.63％,respectively,both P ＜ 0.001) and urticaria patients (7.36％ and 15.43％,respectively,both P ＜ 0.001).The five most common allergens were dust mite (15.95％),Artemisia argyi (11.04％),cat hair (7.36％),egg white (6.14％) and house dust (5.52％)among patients with atopic dermatitis.Conclusion sIgE detection appears to be of higher clinical value to patients with atopic dermatitis than to those with eczema or urticaria. Key words: Dermatology ; Anaphylaxis ; Immunoglobulin E ; Allergens ;