RAST in diagnosis and therapy of allergic rhinitis

Skin tests, RAST, nasal provocation tests, and other nasal allergy examinations were performed on 463 patients exhibiting symptoms of allergic rhinitis who were examined at the Department of Otolaryngology of Osaka City University Medical School, and comparisons were made between the RAST scores and the results of the other examinations. A study was also made of the change in grade of the allergic rhinitis and the change of the RAST score resulting from one year of immunotherapy. The rates of agreement for patients with positive skin test and RAST were 60 to 70% for house dust (HD), house dust mites, Japanese cedar, and cocksfoot, and 10 to 35% for common ragweed and the fungus group. The RAST was positive for house dust 1, house dust 2, and Dermatophagoides farinae in 80 to 90% of the patients with house dust or house dust mite allergic rhinitis, and for over 80% of the patients with pollinosis (Japanese cedar or common ragweed). In most cases, the RAST scores were unchanged by one year of specific hyposensitization, and in the cases in which the RAST scores did change, the treatment was ineffective.