ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Total IgE levels in allergic patients tend to be higher than those in healthy individuals. We evaluated the usefulness of total IgE levels in predicting positive results of allergen specific IgEs in multiple allergen simultaneous tests. METHODS: A total of 133 patients with allergic symptoms were evaluated. Allergen specific IgEs were detected using 3 different kits: Allergy screen (R-biopharm, Germany), AdvanSure Allergy Screen (LG Life Science, Korea) and Polycheck allergy (Biocheck Co., Germany). Total IgE was measured by turbidoimmunometric assay (LX-2200, Eiken Chemical Co., Japan). The patients were divided into high (> or =170 IU/mL) and low ( or =50%. Allergen specific IgEs to these two allergens showed good correlation with total IgE (correlation coefficients >0.5). CONCLUSIONS: Total IgE appears to be useful in predicting positive results in allergen specific IgE tests to common allergens. The specific IgEs to D. farinae and D. pteronyssinus showed good correlation with total IgE. However, for other allergens, significant differences were observed among different test kits, and the standardization of allergens in multiple allergen simultaneous tests is needed.