title: Relationship between airborne pollen counts and the results obtained using 2 diagnostic methods: allergen-specific immunoglobulin E concentrations and skin prick tests.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with pollinosis show allergic symptoms related to airborne pollen levels, although this association is not always close. The use of new diagnostic techniques could improve our knowledge of this relationship.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the relationship between pollen counts and the results obtained using 2 diagnostic techniques: the skin prick test and allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (slgE) concentrations in serum.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-eight pollen-allergic patients were diagnosed using a combination of the high-capacity screening approach ADVIA Centaur with a panel of 13 purified allergens and a skin prick test (SPT) with conventional extracts. Pollen levels were obtained by means of a volumetric sampler.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The highest percentages of sensitization were detected for grass mixture allergens and major recombinant grass allergens (Phl p 1 and Phi p 5), followed by olive tree extracts and olive allergens (Ole e 1 and Ole e 9), in SPT and using recombinant allergens, respectively. The main pollen types registered in the atmosphere during 2006 and 2007 were Quercus, Poaceae, and Cupressaceae. A statistically significant correlation was observed between total pollen levels and median values of slgE, especially in 2007.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A strong and significant positive correlation was found between pollen counts and slgE levels. This correlation was weaker in the case of SPT and airborne pollen.
authors.affiliation: Centro Hispano-Luso de Investigaciones Agrarias (C.IALE.), Universidad de Salamanca, Villamayor (Salamanca), Spain. droc@usal.es
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Davila
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sánchez
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lorente
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000485:Allergens / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D052179:Antigens, Plant / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000276:immunology; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D031658:Olea / Q000276:immunology; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000276:immunology; D011058:Pollen / Q000276:immunology*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D010936:Plant Extracts; C451253:grass pollen extract, alum-adsorbed; D007073:Immunoglobulin E