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Drug hypersensitivities: which room for biological tests?
María L Sanz1, Pedro M Gamboa, Carmen García-Avilés
1Department of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, University Clinic of Navarra, School of Medicine, University of Navarra, 31080 Pamplona, Spain.
European Annals of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
|September 15, 2005
Summary
In vitro tests like the basophil activation test (BAT) show promise for diagnosing drug allergies. BAT is particularly useful for identifying allergies to betalactams, metamizol, and NSAIDs.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Pharmacology
- Allergy Diagnostics
Background:
- Drug allergic reactions pose significant diagnostic challenges.
- Accurate in vitro diagnostic methods are crucial for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize recent data on the diagnostic reliability of in vitro techniques for drug allergy.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of specific tests for various drug classes.
Main Methods:
- Review of published data on in vitro drug allergy diagnostic techniques.
- Analysis of sensitivity and specificity for lymphocyte transformation test (LTT), basophil activation test (BAT), CAP (specific IgE), and CAST.
Main Results:
- LTT shows moderate sensitivity for betalactam allergies (58-64.5%).
- BAT demonstrates good specificity (93.3%) for betalactam and NSAID hypersensitivity.
- Combined use of BAT with other tests can improve diagnostic yield for certain drug allergies.
Conclusions:
- BAT is a valuable, non-invasive in vitro tool for diagnosing betalactam, metamizol, and NSAID hypersensitivity.
- The diagnostic reliability varies among different in vitro tests and drug classes.