CAP-Inhibition, Molecular Diagnostics, and Total IgE in the Evaluation of <b><i>Polistes</i></b> and <b><i>Vespula</i></b> Double Sensitization

Abstract

Cross-reactions between Polistes dominula and Vespula species are common in southern Europe. Currently, only CAP-inhibition demonstrates high accuracy in identifying genuine sensitizations, but this method is time-consuming and expensive, so a new approach is required. This study investigates skin tests, molecular diagnostics, total IgE (tIgE), and the Ves v 5/Pol d 5 (or vice versa) ratio. The ratio generated low-accuracy results and poor agreement with CAP-inhibition, and we did not find any agreement between CAP-inhibition test and double values of Ves v 5/Pol d 5. Nevertheless, a slight diagnostic improvement was obtained when Ves v 5/tIgE and Pol d 5/tIgE were measured.