Relation between allergen skin sensitivity, allergen specifis IgE titer and bronchial provocation tests

The bronchial allergen-challenge test (BCT) is a validated model of allergic asthma. During BCTs, there exist a variabilty of the induced bronchial reponse to the allergen. Different predictive factors have been studied. Skin sensitivity to allergen and non-specific hyper-responsiveness have been related to the allergen bronchial sensitivity during bronchial allergen-challenge tests. Conflicting data has also been reported. Discrepancy may be explained by challenge procedures that differ between research laboratories and non standardized allergen extracts used in earlier studies. (C) 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.