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A comparative study of the diagnostic characteristics of the modified RAST and Pharmacia CAP System
D J Nalebuff1, R G Fadal, B C May
1New Jersey College of Medicine and Dentistry, Teaneck.
Abstract:
New in vitro technology for the detection of allergen-specific IgE antibody continues to be developed. The manufacturer of one such system, the Pharmacia CAP System, claims that it has test qualities similar to those of the modified RAST. To evaluate this assertion we compared the results obtained with 12 allergens by both procedures on six negative control sera and four sera obtained from atopic patients; a total of 120 tests were performed. The data suggest that attempts to match the sensitivity of the modified RAST are accompanied by a significant loss in test specificity in the Pharmacia CAP System.