[Rhinoconjunctivitis: importance of a local diagnosis?]

Diagnosis of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, particularly in chronic forms, remains sometimes difficult. Systemic tests such as skin or blood tests may be not sufficient to assess local sensitization. Local tests are needed, performed from nasal secretion or tears. Measurement of total IgE in the local secretions of 41 patients suffering from rhinoconjunctivitis show that diagnosis contribution was upgraded from 61 to 88%. Very interestingly, in some cases, local tests were the only argument for allergy.