The sensitization feature of artemisia allergy and the diagnosis value of skin prick test

Abstract

Objective:The purpose of this study was to explore the sensitization feature of artemisia allergy and to assess the diagnostic value of skin prick test(SPT) compared with specific IgE(sIgE) test. Method:One hundred and fifty-one patients with typical rhino-conjunctivitis symptoms during pollen season were enrolled and general information was recorded in this study. All subjects received SPT and sIgE test of artemisia allergen. The accuracy rate, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value(PPV), negative predictive value(NPV), Kappa index and Youden index of SPT for diagnosing artemisia allergy was analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve) and the area under the curve was calculated. Result:Among 151 patients, 89(58.9%) was sIgE positive while severe type was 59.6% in positive group. 106(70.2%) was SPT positive while 84.0% was SPT level 3. SPT level was positively associated with sIgE level(r=0.714, P<0.01). While considering SPT level 1 as positive, the sensitivity of SPT diagnosing artemisia allergy was 98.9% and the NPV was 97.8%. While considering SPT level 2 as positive, the accuracy rate of SPT was highest(89.4%) with sensitivity of 97.8%, specificity of 77.4% and NPV of 96.0%. The Kappa index and Youden index was the highest at SPT level 2 compared with other SPT level. The area under the curve was 0.886(95%CI 0.822-0.949, P<0.01). Conclusion:Artemisia allergy tends to be severe type. Strong correlation exists between SPT and sIgE tests of artemisia. SPT level 1 has the highest sensitivity while SPT level 2 has the strongest screening ability of artemisia allergy.