title: Correlation between skin prick test and MAST-immunoblot results in patients with chronic rhinitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The most reliable method for confirming the causative allergens of allergic rhinitis is the skin prick test, followed by the multiple allergen simultaneous test (MAST), which reportedly has acceptable sensitivity and specificity. This study was designed to confirm whether a novel MAST-immunoblot assay can reliably diagnose allergic rhinitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review was conducted of chronic rhinitis patients who visited Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital between January 2010 and June 2011.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 193 subjects (111 male, 82 female) were included, with a mean age of 30.08 years (range 6-77). The skin prick test detected 132 subjects as having one or more positive responses to allergens, and MAST detected 105 subjects as having one or more positive response. The sensitivity, specificity, and efficiency of the MAST assay were 63.16%, 65.57%, and 63.92%, respectively. Sensitivity, specificity and efficacy for common allergens were not high enough for MAST to replace skin prick test in detecting causative allergens. When correlation was defined as a difference between the classes of MAST and SPT of less than 2, the correlation rates for Dermatophagoides farina and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus were 65.80% and 59.07%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The correlation between MAST and the skin prick test is not sufficiently strong to use MAST as a diagnostic test to confirm the causative allergen in allergic rhinitis. Further studies to confirm the reliability of MAST should be conducted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul.
authors.forename: Young Ha
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Byung Jae
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Woo Jin
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ju Eun
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Guen-Ho
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyeong-Ah
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jin Hee
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000485:Allergens / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000379:methods; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012220:Rhinitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D007073:Immunoglobulin E