Phazet skin prick tests versus conventional prick tests with allergens and histamine in children

Forty children underwent two different skin prick tests with allergen-coated Phazet needles and conventional skin prick tests using Pharmalgen extracts (100,000 BU/mL). Good correlation between both skin test methods was found with house dust mites (Rs = 0.61; P less than .001), timothy pollen (Rs = 0.77; P less than .001), and cat epithelium (Rs = 0.74, P less than .001). The correlation coefficient in the case of histamine was lower (Rs = 0.50; P less than .01) than that obtained from the allergens. Larger wheals were generated with Phazet than with conventional prick tests (median: 54.5 mm2 and 24.5 mm2, respectively; Wilcoxon signed rank test, P less than .0001). Comparison of wheal areas and specific IgE did not reveal large differences between the two skin test methods. In conclusion, Phazet, a recently introduced simple, standardized, skin prick test method can replace the conventional skin prick test for the most important allergens such as house dust mites, timothy pollen, and cat epithelium.