Allergen Patterns using MAST cla Test in Korean pediatric patients

Lim, Hwan Sub; Yoon, Jae Kyun; Lee, Hyun Hee

Abstract

BACKGROUND
The MAST CLA test is known to have almost the same sensitivity and specificity as the skin prick test for diagnosing allergic diseases. We report the types of allergens causing allergic diseases in Korean pediatric patients and re-evaluate the positive cut-off level used in Korea.
METHODS
The MAST CLA tests were done on patients, ages less than 14-years, who visited the allergy clinic in the pediatric department from May 1999 to September 2000. We separated the patients into 2 age groups, one group of less than 3 years and dependent on milk feeding and another group of older than 3 years.
RESULTS
Among 599 patients, 353 patients were male, 246 patients were female. 261 patients had at least one positive allergen-specific IgE antibody in the allergy disease group. The overall positive rate was 63.0% and 61.3% in the male and female groups, respectively among the allergy diseases group. The order of allergic origin frequencies was; milk, egg whites, D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus, and house dust. But patients who were less than 3 years of age and dependent on milk feeding, the order of allergen frequencies changed to milk, egg whites, and soybeans. By changing the positive cut-off from class 2 to class 1, the positive rates for allergen-specific IgE increased from 34.4% to 62.3%. Class 1 positive results showed good clinical correlations.
CONCLUSIONS
Allergen origins for patients under 3 years of age and those of older groups were different. By changing the positive cut-off from class 2 to class 1, the detection rate for allergens increased which also showed good clinical correlation with symptoms. Allergen origin should be defined by the MAST CLA test for prompt therapy.