Validity of MAST-CLA for diagnosis of arthropod allergy using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis.
Many allergists are currently focusing on the development of new diagnostic tools, and are attempting to improve both the sensitivity and specificity. A multiple allergen simultaneous test-chemiluminescent assay (MASTCLA) is one of the most popular diagnostic tools used in the Republic of Korea. However, there remains controversy among allergists with regard to the cut-off point for a positive result. The present study was conducted in order to determine the validity of MAST-CLA as compared with that of the skin prick test, with particular emphasis on arthropod allergens, on the basis of percentage agreement rates and kappa-values, and also to suggest the optimal positive cutoff points using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. The study was conducted with 97 subjects (54 men, 43 women). Optimal individual cut-off points were calculated as follows; class II for Dermatophagoides farinae, class I for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, and trace for a cockroach mix. These findings suggest that attempting to apply optimal individual cut-off points will be a good way of improving diagnostic tests, particularly MAST-CLA.
Park
Joon-Soo
JS
Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Cheonan 330-090, Korea.
Nam
Hae-Seon
HS
Kim
Yong-Bae
YB
Choi
Young-Jin
YJ
Lee
Sang-Han
SH
Kim
Sung-Ho
SH
D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides / Q000276:immunology*; D003058:Cockroaches / Q000737:chemistry; D040001:Dermatophagoides farinae / Q000737:chemistry; D040002:Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D008163:Luminescent Measurements / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D008297:Male; D012372:ROC Curve; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000379:methods
D000485:Allergens; D039741:Antigens, Dermatophagoides; D019476:Insect Proteins