title: Skin prick tests and specific IgE in 10-year-old children: Agreement and association with allergic diseases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Accurate assessment of atopic sensitization is pivotal to clinical practice and research. Skin prick test (SPT) and specific IgE (sIgE) are often used interchangeably. Some studies have suggested a disagreement between these two methods, and little is known about their association with allergic diseases. The aims of our study were to evaluate agreement between SPT and sIgE, and to compare their association with allergic diseases in 10-year-old children.
  
  
  METHODS
  Skin prick test, sIgE measurements, and assessment of allergic diseases were performed in children aged 10 years in the Protection against Allergy: STUdy in Rural Environments (PASTURE) cohort. The agreement between SPT and sIgE was assessed by Cohen's kappa coefficient with different cutoff values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Skin prick tests and sIgE were performed in 529 children. The highest agreement (κ=.44) was found with a cutoff value of 3 and 5 mm for SPT, and 3.5 IU/mL for sIgE. The area under the curve (AUC) obtained with SPT was not significantly different from that obtained with sIgE. For asthma and hay fever, SPT (cutoff value at 3 mm) had a significantly higher specificity (P<.0001) than sIgE (cutoff value at 0.35 IU/mL) and the specificity was not different between both tests (P=.1088).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Skin prick test and sIgE display moderate agreement, but have a similar AUC for allergic diseases. At the cutoff value of 3 mm for SPT and 0.35 IU/mL for sIgE, SPT has a higher specificity for asthma and hay fever than sIgE without difference for sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, University Hospital of Besançon, Besançon, France.|Pediatric Allergy Department, University Hospital of Nancy, Nancy, France.|UMR 6249 Chrono-Environment, CNRS and University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2492-9864
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chauveau
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics Department, University Hospital of Besançon, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: M-L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Dalphin
authors.affiliation: UMR 6249 Chrono-Environment, CNRS and University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.|Clinical Methodology Center, University Hospital of Besançon, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mauny
authors.affiliation: UMR 6249 Chrono-Environment, CNRS and University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.|Respiratory Diseases Department, University Hospital of Besançon, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kaulek
authors.affiliation: Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schmausser-Hechfellner
authors.affiliation: Institute for Laboratory Medicine, Pathobiochemistry and Molecular Diagnostics, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Renz
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Schwarzach, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Riedler
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Protection, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland.|Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pekkanen
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Protection, National Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Karvonen
authors.affiliation: Christine Kühne Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), Davos, Switzerland.|Children's Hospital of Eastern Switzerland, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lauener
authors.affiliation: Christine Kühne Center for Allergy Research and Education (CK-CARE), Davos, Switzerland.|University Children's Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roduit
authors.affiliation: EA 3181, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Vuitton
authors.affiliation: Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Munich, Germany.|CPC-M, Member of the German Center for Lung Research, Giessen, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: von Mutius
authors.affiliation: UMR 6249 Chrono-Environment, CNRS and University of Franche-Comté, Besançon, France.|Respiratory Diseases Department, University Hospital of Besançon, Besançon, France.
authors.forename: J-C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Dalphin
mesh_terms: D019540:Area Under Curve; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000032:analysis*; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000175:diagnosis; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012882:Skin Tests / Q000592:standards*
chemical_list: D007073:Immunoglobulin E
keywords: atopy; childhood; sensitization; skin prick test; specific IgE