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How do results correlate to symptom severity?
The higher the response value, the more specific IgE is in
the sample. A high or low specific IgE level may not necessarily
correlate to the degree of symptom severity, because each
person’s symptom threshold varies.
How should I interpret specific IgE levels?
This chart lists IgE ranges as well as management options
according to the degree of allergic response.
Click
here to download a PDF file of this chart.
What do I do when the results are positive (ie, patient
is allergic)?
You can use the information to confirm atopy and identify
specific allergens to counsel for avoidance and guide effective
medication selection. Allergy is a cumulative threshold disease.1 Symptoms of atopic illness are often triggered only after
exposure to multiple allergens. The patient who is sensitized
to more than one allergen crosses the symptomatic threshold
only after a cumulative allergic load has been reached.1
Patients
can find resolution of their symptoms through the avoidance
of one or more allergens in order to diminish that cumulative
load to a level at which symptoms don’t
occur.2 With
the specific quantitative results offered by the ImmuoCAP
profiles, you can develop an effective management program
to tailor avoidance measures as appropriate to reduce cumulative
allergic load and guide appropriate treatment selection or
referral.
Click here to
learn more about managing allergic disease.
What do I do with a negative test result?
Specific IgE testing offers advantages when atopy is not involved. By ruling out an allergic etiology, the clinician
can focus the evaluation on other possible causes (including
anatomical, bacterial, medical, hormonal, and vasomotor)3 in
order to select an appropriate treatment or make any necessary
referrals. In addition, you can avoid prescribing costly
non-sedating antihistamines, which are thought to be ineffective
in non-atopic patients2 and
are not
indicated for use in this population.
Click
here to learn more about managing non-allergic
disease.
Can I use the results to perform immunotherapy treatments?
If immunotherapy is indicated, refer the patient to an allergy
specialist.
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