Basophil Activation Test in the Diagnosis of Anisakis Allergy: An Observational Study from an Area of High Seafood Consumption in Italy
Year: 2023
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The rising popularity of undercooked or raw seafood containing larvae of the Anisakis parasite has led to issues of public health concern due to allergic manifestations. We conducted an observational study on the use of an innovative Anisakis allergy diagnostic algorithm in a convenience sample of 53 allergic outpatients recruited in Western Sicily, between April 2021 and March 2022. We included individuals with an anamnesis suggestive of IgE sensitization to Anisakis reporting clinical manifestation in the last month due to allergic reactions after eating fresh fish, or in subjects at high exposure risk with sea products while abstaining from fish ingestion, excluding those with documented fish sensitization. Outpatients were tested via Skin Prick Test, IgE-specific dosage and Basophil Activation Test (BAT). Twenty-six outpatients were diagnosed with Anisakis, while 27 with Chronic Urticaria (CU). We found a seven-fold excess risk for Anisakis (p4) positivity in the Anisakis allergic outpatients, as compared to the CU ones. BAT showed the best diagnostic accuracy (92.45%) and specificity (100%), while specific IgE to Ascaris (p1) documented the best sensitivity (92.31%) but a very low specificity (37.04%). In conclusion, our findings may represent a potentially useful contribution to the future development of updated clinical guidelines.
Source: Pathogens
Authors: Ignazio Brusca, Maria Barrale, Maurizio Zarcone, Santo Fruscione, Rosa Onida, Daniele Domenico De Bella, Davide Alba, Miriam Belluzzo, Carina Gabriela Uasuf, Gaetano Cammilleri, Antonella Costa, Vincenzo Ferrantelli, Alessandra Savatteri, Emanuele Cannizzaro, Giuseppe Calamusa, Guido Lacca, Carmelo Massimo Maida, Salvatore Pipitone, Alida D’Atria, Marialetizia Palomba, Claudio Costantino, Simonetta Mattiucci, Walter Mazzucco
Institutions: Ospedale Buccheri la Ferla Fatebenefratelli, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Policlinico "Paolo Giaccone" di Palermo, University of Palermo, Istituto di Farmacologia Traslazionale, National Research Council, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale Della Sicilia, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza University of Rome, University of Cincinnati
Language: English
Subfield: Immunology and Allergy
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,447
Funder: Ministero della Salute
Award: G4984829953
OpenAlex ID: W4378906201