BACKGROUND New in vitro diagnostic methods for IgE-mediated drug allergic reactions, such as basophil activation test and antigen specific sulfidoleukotriene test, have proven their usefulness in patients with positive skin tests. OBJECTIVE To assess the usefulness of basophil activation test and antigen specific sulfidoleukotriene test in the diagnosis of patients with IgE-mediated allergy t...

The diagnosis of insect venom allergy and the indication for specific immunotherapy is based on history, skin tests and demonstration of hymenoptera venom-specific IgE-antibodies. Cellular tests can add useful information but the role of basophil activation tests for the different venoms has to be elucidated further. We evaluated positive reactions in a basophil activation test using CD63 expre...

The diagnosis of immediate allergy is mainly based upon an evocative clinical history, positive skin tests (gold standard) and, if available, detection of specific IgE. In some complicated cases, functional in vitro tests are necessary. The general concept of those tests is to mimic in vitro the contact between allergens and circulating basophils. The first approach to basophil functional respo...

The letter to the Editor by Dr Chirumbolo highlights the major pitfalls in basophil activation test (BAT) performance. In my view, basophil activation test should be considered as an additional clinical tool in the diagnosis of allergy and not the “absolute truth”. Basophils play a pivotal role as effector cells in allergic disease, despite representing a small population of peripheral leucocyt...

Chlorpheniramine is a widely prescribed H1-antihistamine for relieving urticaria or histamine-mediated allergic reactions. However, although rare, it may cause immediate hypersensitivity reactions. The diagnosis is usually made by provocation test, but its application is often limited due to comorbidities or potential risk of severe reactions. In those cases, skin tests and basophil activation ...

Dear Editor, Zehwan Kim et al, [1] presented a protocol to assay basophil activation by flow cytometry (FC) that included a phenotyping panel with CD123 and CD193 (CC chemokine receptor-3 [CCR3]). This method for the electronic capture of basophils in whole blood, never published before,raises some interesting questions. CCR3 (CD193), the eotaxin receptor, is commonly present in CD3-expressing ...

Methods 83 subjects (66/17 females/males) with reported food adverse reactions were included in the study. Eighteen atopic/allergic subjects were included as controls for the foods to which they had reported no reactions. BAT was performed on heparinazed blood incubated with food extracts. CD63 activation marker was evaluated on basophils by flow-cytometry. The stimulation index (SI) was calcul...