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Autologous serum skin test in children
1Shree Skin Centre and Laboratory, 21/22, L Market, Sector 8, Nerul, Navi Mumbai - 400 706, India. drgodse@gmail.com
Insights
The autologous serum skin test (ASST) can detect autoantibodies in children with chronic urticaria. This simple test showed positive results in 35% of pediatric patients, indicating its utility.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dermatology
- Immunology
Background:
- Chronic urticaria (CU) is less common in children than adults.
- Identifying the underlying causes of CU in pediatric patients is crucial for effective management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the utility of the autologous serum skin test (ASST) in diagnosing chronic urticaria in children.
- To determine the prevalence of positive ASST results in a pediatric cohort with chronic urticaria.
Main Methods:
- The study included 17 children aged 6-16 years diagnosed with chronic urticaria.
- An autologous serum skin test was performed, comparing wheal and flare reactions to a saline control.
Main Results:
- Six out of 17 children (35%) exhibited a positive ASST result, defined as a wheal and flare reaction exceeding 1.5 mm compared to the saline control.
- The ASST demonstrated a positive response in a significant subset of the pediatric chronic urticaria population.
Conclusions:
- The autologous serum skin test is a valuable, cost-effective, and easily performable diagnostic tool for chronic urticaria in children.
- ASST shows good sensitivity and high specificity for detecting autoantibodies in pediatric patients with chronic urticaria, aiding in diagnosis.
Abstract:
Chronic urticaria in children occurs less often than adults. Out of 17 children (age group 6-16 years, Table 2), six children (2 boys and 4 girls, 35%) showed a positive result in form of wheal and flare more than 1.5 mm than saline control. Autologous serum skin test is cheap, is easy to perform, and, if performed as appropriate, it has good sensitivity and even better specificity at detecting autoantibodies in children.
