Mohammad Sadegh Naghizadeh, Mohsen Naseri, Gholamreza Anani Sarab, Afshin Derakhshani, Mohammad Fereidouni,
Volume 17, Issue 6 (11-2023)
Abstract
Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common allergic disorder. Detection of responsible pathogenic allergens in AD patients by reliable methods has a fundamental role in the prevention, management, and treatment of AD. This study was conducted to determine the most common allergens by the skin prick test (SPT) and immunoblotting among AD patients referring to an allergy clinic in Birjand City, Iran.
Methods: The presence of AD was confirmed by an expert allergist. Serum levels of total and specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) against 30 food and inhalant allergens were evaluated by a commercial immunoblotting kit (AlleisaScreen).
Results: The skin prick test was performed by a battery of 17 allergens. In total, 34 AD patients (mean age, 28.76 ± 17.36 years; range, 1-60 years; F/M ratio: 0.88) were enrolled in this study. The sensitization rates to at least 1 fungus, pollen, food, or indoor allergen by the immunoblotting method were 32.35%, 61.76%, 52.94%, and 47.05%, respectively. The most prevalent allergens were ragweed (52.94), Olive tree (41.16), Eucalyptus (35.29), date palm (35.29), and grass mix (32.28).
Conclusion: The study found that 85.29% of the studied population were sensitized to at least 1 allergen. Pollens and date palms were the most common allergens among AD patients, but the pattern of sensitization in SPT and immunoblotting was not exactly similar. Detection of allergens to which patients are sensitized and avoidance can help in the management of the disease and its symptoms.
Toukam Michel, Voundi-Voundi Esther, Bole Bernard, Mviena Nyimbe Louise, Sahmo Simon Stevensen, Nogue Raissa, Kasia Jean Marie,
Volume 18, Issue 3 (5-2024)
Abstract
Background: Syphilis has serious consequences for human health and poses challenges for biological diagnosis. Techniques such as chemiluminescence are still poorly known in our context. Our objective was to compare chemiluminescence and hemagglutination assays with immunoblot as a reference test for detecting anti-Treponema pallidum antibodies.
Methods: Anti-Treponema pallidum antibodies were detected in serum samples. Comparison of chemiluminescence and hemagglutination assays was carried out with immunoblot as the reference test, based on sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and kappa statistic, using IBM-SPSS version 24 software. The significance level was set at 5%.
Results: A total of 600 participants were recruited, with a prevalence of syphilis infection of 3%. Sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 96.2% for chemiluminescence, and 93.8% and 100% for hemagglutination, respectively. Cohen's kappa statistic between the two tests showed satisfactory agreement (0.768). Cohen's kappa agreements between chemiluminescence/immunoblot and plate hemagglutination assay/immunoblot were greater than 0.8, indicating excellent agreement with the reference test (p<0.0001).
Conclusion: Chemiluminescence is more sensitive but less specific than hemagglutination. The use of chemiluminescence as a first-line test for the diagnosis of syphilis should be considered.
