title: Prediction of mite allergen levels by guanine measurements in house-dust samples.
abstract: We studied the sensitivity and specificity of guanine environmental tests in the evaluation of the two mite allergen levels, i.e. 2 micrograms/g and 10 micrograms/g of Der p I and Der f I, considered to be risk factors for sensitization or for the development of acute asthma. We examined 239 house-dust samples for Der p I and Der f I levels (ELISA) and guanine contents (semiquantitative guanine test and quantitative assays). All house-dust samples with class 2 or 3 guanine tests contained more than 2 micrograms/g of Der p I and Der f I. The probability that house-dust samples of class 2 contained more than 10 micrograms/g of mite allergens was 88%; it was 100% for house-dust samples of class 3. The probability that a house-dust sample of class 0 contained less than 2 micrograms/g of mite allergen was 87%. For each level of mite allergen, a ROC curve was constructed with the true positive rates and the false positive rates calculated by different cutoffs of guanine concentration. The cutoff point which gave the best compromise between sensitivity (76%) and specificity (89%) was 2100 micrograms/g for the threshold of 2 micrograms/g of Der p I and Der f I. For detection of a mite allergen > 10 micrograms, a guanine content of 3000 micrograms/g gave the best compromise between sensitivity (86%) and specificity (93%). In conclusion, the guanine test represents a satisfactory environmental test, inexpensive and simple, for predicting mite allergen levels.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Service de Pneumologie, Pavillon Laennec, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quoix
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Le Mao
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hoyet
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pauli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides; D004391:Dust / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis*; D006147:Guanine / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D012372:ROC Curve; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides; D004391:Dust; D006023:Glycoproteins; D006147:Guanine