Evaluation of serum s-IgE/total IgE ratio in predicting clinical response to allergen-specific immunotherapy

Background

To date, no predictive tests for the clinical response to allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASI) are available. Therefore an in vivo or in vitro test would be of great value.

Objective

We sought to evaluate pretreatment parameters used in diagnosing allergic rhinitis and determining serum specific IgE (s-IgE) levels, serum total IgE (t-IgE) levels, and blood eosinophil counts and to identify whether can be used to predict clinical improvement in monosensitized patients with allergic rhinitis with or without asthma treated with immunotherapy.

Methods

We analyzed 279 patients who had undergone 4 years of ASI administered either by means of the subcutaneous immunotherapy (76 patients) or sublingual immunotherapy (203 patients) routes. Serum t-IgE and s-IgE levels, blood eosinophil counts, and serum s-IgE/t-IgE ratios were calculated and tested for correlation with clinical response to ASI. Receiver operating characteristic curves were determined. Predicted probabilities and predictive areas under the curve were calculated.

Results

The clinical response to ASI was effective in 145 (52.0%) of 279 total patients, 42 (55.2%) of 76 patients treated with subcutaneous immunotherapy, and 103 (50.7%) of 203 patients treated with sublingual immunotherapy. A significant correlation was found between the serum s-IgE/t-IgE ratio and the clinical response to ASI, with high ratios (>16.2) associated with an effective response. The sensitivity and specificity of the area under the curve of the ratio were higher than those of serum s-IgE and t-IgE alone.

Conclusion

The calculation of the serum s-IgE/t-IgE ratio for predicting the clinical response to ASI offers an advantage over measuring t-IgE and s-IgE levels in monosensitized patients for the following allergens: grass, Parietaria judaica, Olea europea, and house dust mite.

Key words: Allergen-specific immunotherapy, total IgE, specific IgE, blood eosinophil counts, serum-specific IgE/serum total IgE ratio, receiver operating characteristic curve

Abbreviations used: ASI, Allergen-specific immunotherapy, b-eos, Blood eosinophils, HDM, House dust mite, SCIT, Subcutaneous immunotherapy, s-IgE, Specific IgE, SLIT, Sublingual immunotherapy, SPT, Skin prick test, ROC, Receiver operating characteristic, t-IgE, Total IgE, VAS, Visual analog scale