Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the performance of microfluidic cartridge enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay（ELFA）and immunoblotting test（IBT）for allergen testing.Methods A total of 225 patients from Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Longhua Hospital Dermatological Department were enrolled. Allergen-specific IgE（sIgE）was determined by IBT and microfluidic cartridge ELFA. Results Specific allergens had been determined in 51 cases by IBT,the positive rate was 22.7%,and the top 4 common allergens were dermatophagoides pteronyssinus/dermatophagoides farinae,codfish/lobster/scallop,house dust and cat fur. Specific allergens had been determined in 82 cases by microfluidic cartridge ELFA,the positive rate was 36.4%,and the top 4 common allergens were mite mix（dermatophagoides farinae/dermatophagoides pteronyssinus/blomia tropicalis）,cockroach mix（blattella germanica/blattella asahinai）,crab and cat fur. The Kappa values for the consistency of the 2 methods were 38.2%,6.04%,32.1%,22.2% and 13.4% for mite mix,cockroach mix,cat fur,seafish mix and crab.Conclusions There is difference between IBT and microfluidic cartridge ELFA for allergen testing. Comparing with IBT,there are more allergens and higher positive rate of microfluidic cartridge ELFA. The 2 methods should be a complement for each other .

Key words: Allergen testing, Specific IgE, Microfluidic cartridge enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay, Immunoblotting test