The use of the MeDALL-chip to assess IgE sensitization: a new diagnostic tool for allergic disease?

BackgroundAllergic sensitization is frequently present in asthma and rhinitis, but the role of specific immunoglobulin E (s-IgE) is not always clear. Multiple s-IgE analyses may provide insight into this relationship, thus a microarray chip was developed within the EU-funded MeDALL project. The main objective was to evaluate the performance of the MeDALL-chip compared to ImmunoCAP and skin prick test (SPT) in detecting allergic sensitization in children and secondarily to investigate the association to asthma and allergic rhinitis. MethodsFrom the Environment and Childhood Asthma Study', 265 children were investigated at 10 and 16yr of age with clinical examination, interview, SPT, ImmunoCAP, and the MeDALL-chip including 152 allergen components in the analysis. ResultsAllergic sensitization at 10yr was more frequently detected using the MeDALL-chip (38.1%) compared to the ImmunoCAP (32.8%) (p=0.034) and SPT (25.5%) (p<0.001), but no significant difference was seen at 16yr (MeDALL-chip 49.8%, ImmunoCAP 48.6%, SPT 45.8%). The MeDALL-chip did not differ significantly from the ImmunoCAP or SPT in terms of detecting allergic sensitization in subjects with rhinitis or asthma at 10 or 16yr. ConclusionThe prevalence of allergic sensitization increased by all three diagnostic tests from 10 to 16yr was similar by SPT and ImmunoCAP and significantly higher with the MeDALL-chip at 10yr. All three tests were comparable for identification of allergic sensitization among children with current rhinitis or asthma.