engleski

Sulfidoleukotriene production in patients with positive history of stinging insect allergy

Background:Assessing the frequency of allergy to insect venom, a recent study has confirmed that up to 5% of general population have experienced systemic hypersensitivity reactions to insect stings. Current diagnostic tests of insect venom allergy include insect venom specific IgE antibodies, skin prick test and intradermal test. These tests may be sufficient in most cases, but no diagnostic test is perfect and there is still concern about their sensitivity and specificity. In cases with contradictory test results and for the study of difficult diagnostic cases, additional cellular tests are recommended such as in vitro basophil flow cytometry based assay (CD63, CD203c) and in vitro basophil histamine and sulfidoleukotriene release assay. We evaluated the usefulness of CAST-ELISA test in diagnosis of allergic reaction mediated by bee, wasp and hornet venoms. Methods:Sulfidoleukotriene (sLT, LTC4, LTD4 and LTE4) production from peripheral blood leukocytes obtained from sensitised patients was measured in vitro using CAST-ELISA test. We tested 30 patients with positive history of hypersensitivity reaction to bee, wasp and hornet venoms. Clinical symptoms included urticaria/angioedema (24 patients) and anaphylaxia (6 patients). Results: Our results demonstrated that CAST test was positive in 77% (20/26) of patients to bee venom, 82% (23/28) of patients to wasp venom and 73% (8/11) of patients to hornet venom. Also, 93% (28/30) of these patients had positive CAST test to all three venoms. Conclusion: Under the conditions applied, CAST-ELISA test proved to be feasable, safe and useful in the routine investigation of hypersensitivity to insect venom.

CAST-ELISA; insect allergens

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