Correlation between Results of the Multiple Allergosorbent Test-Chemiluminescent Assay (MAST-CLA) and Clinical Severity of Chronic Urticaria

Kim, Tae Hwan; Lee, Ga Young; Kim, Kea Jeung

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Numerous in vivo and in vitro diagnostic techniques are used in diagnosis of allergy. The multiple allergosorbent test-chemiluminescent assay (MAST-CLA) can check serum allergen-specific IgE, and allows up to 35 allergens to be tested simultaneously. The study about the relationship between the result of MAST-CLA and the clinical severity of chronic urticaria is not plentiful in the worldwide literature.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine whether there was a robus correlation between abnormal immunologic findings on the MAST-CLA and clinical severity of disease in chronic urticaria patients.
METHODS
The MAST-CLA (MAST Immunosystem, Inc., California, USA) was performed on serum samples from in-patients and out-patients with chronic urticaria between August 2005 and July 2006. Urticaria severity scores of patients and the result of MAST-CLA were analyzed.
RESULTS
Almost all patients (98.7%) had a positive total IgE level (more than class level 2) and 56.1% had at least more than one allergen-specific IgE. The main positive allergens were D. farinae (40.1%), D. pteronyssynus (36.7%), Housedust (33.8%), Shrimp (30.7%), Egg white (22.4%), and Cow's milk (20.6%). A positive correlation was found between total IgE levels and the number of positive allergen-specific IgEs in the MAST-CLA. The correlation coefficient was 0.205 (p<0.05). The correlation of the total IgE levels and the number of allergen-specific IgEs with the clinical severity of urticaria (Urticaria severity scores) was not statistically significant.
CONCLUSION
Total IgE levels and the number of allergen-specific IgEs could be a good predictor for each other, but both of them chould not be used to predict the clinical severity of chronic urticaria.