About Minimization of Expenses on Allergy Diagnosis in Children: Analysis of Consistency of in Vitro- and in Vivo-Allergic Examinations Results

High morbidity rate of atopic diseases among children, including high importance of grass pollen as a sensitizing agent, determine the relevance of studies on diagnostic examination systems for appointment of adequate therapy. The research of the most relevant allergens for patients to exclude of duplicating and uninformative tests became urgent after development of a new type of diagnostic tests that does not require expensive equipment. 

The objective of this research was to evaluate the results of in vitro- and in vivo-diagnostic examinations of children with various forms of atopic disease caused by pollen of meadow grasses, and to choose the most significant prognostic parameters for the diagnosis. 

Methods: 277 children aged 4–16 years with various forms of atopic disease were included in the study. There were performed skin prick tests and determination of IgE-antibodies levels to allergen extracts of cocksfoot (g3), meadow fescue (g4), timothy grass (g6). 

Results: In the studied group of patients 32–50% of children have antibodies to grass allergens. There was a close correlation of antibody response on the investigated allergens, quantitative coincidence of IgE-antibodies to g3 and g4 allergens levels. IgE (g6) concentration was close to the IgE(g3) and IgE(g4) levels (85,0±21,6%). Analysis of the skin tests results showed that 44% of patients have a positive response to grass allergens, and in vivo-tests results coincide with serological tests results, mostly in a qualitative sense. The most significant relationship was noted between in vivo and in vitro-tests in the results of testing the response to meadow fescue pollen.

Conclusion: Based on these data IgE concentration index to meadow fescue allergens can be used as a prognostic marker to determine the sensitization of patients with different nosology forms of allergy and can help to improve allergic diagnostics.