[Evaluation of allergologic diagnosis in patients with bronchial asthma]

The present paper deals with 16 patients who were referred to the Clinical Hospital for Lung Disease "Jordanovac", Zagreb. On admission they were supposed to have or had already been diagnosed to have bronchial asthma. Numerous data from the patients' history were evaluated as well as the results of allergy tests (skin tests, RIST, RAST, eosinophils in the blood and sputum) and parameters of the functional lung diagnostics (blood gas analysis during rest and exercise, spirometry, flow-volume, body plethysmography). It was established that allergy diagnostics is not carried out as required, even though it is necessary in all chronic obstructive lung diseases. Skin tests, inspite of the problems on the standardization of allergens and the average number of positive reactions in healthy volunteers, represent a significant diagnostic method for the determination of the role of allergic reaction in bronchial asthma. It is necessary to combine them with the determining level for specific IgE in serum (RAST), which would, if the other conditions are satisfactory, be a basis for specific immunotherapy. The value of skin tests is greater since a good correlation between them and bronchial sensibility was found established by specific broncho-provocative testing. The correlation between eosinophils in the blood and the sputum with allergic sensibilization in asthma was not confirmed in this work. For evaluation the localisation and degree of obstruction as well as the effect of therapy in asthma patients the best functional test was found to be the flow-volume.