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MRT Laboratories, Inc.

50 Johnson Ave.
Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-342-5400
800-631-1379
FAX 201-342-1123
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Allergen Specific IgE

...RAST Mini-Screen.

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RAST Mini Screen
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Patient Education
Allergen List

The mini-screen utilizes 6-1 0 allergens on individual discs. The allergens selected include one or two regional grasses, trees and weeds, in addition to common molds, house dust mites and animals (when indicated by the patient's history). If a patient's serum is unequivocally positive for elevated IgE to at least one of the tested allergens, we can conclude that he or she is atopic, in other words, has IgE-mediated allergy. We have reported such a mini-screen to be 98% sensitive in a series of known atopic patients.

The mini-screen has been used in those patients who are seriously suspected of being atopic. The history is strong for atopy, the symptoms are typical and the physical examination is consistent with atopy. The most obvious types of patients are those with the history and findings of allergic rhinitis and allergic asthma. The mini-screen can confirm the impression of atopy and identify specific allergens which may be the cause of the patient's symptoms., The identification of animal dander or mite allergy allows the physician to advise avoidance measures which, by themselves, can relieve the patient's symptoms. If immunotherapy is required, the information from the mini-screen is utilized along with the results of further testing performed on the same serum sample.

IgE-mediated allergy has been shown to be present in rhinitis, asthma, headache, serous otitis, sore throats, gastrointestinal disorders, cough and recurrent bronchitis, in chronic and recurrent sinusitis and in certain types of dermatitis. In patients with persistent problems such as those above, an allergy screening test should be performed. If the history and findings support allergy, the mini-screen is appropriate. If these tests are negative, multiple additional RASTs for specific IgE will generally also be negative.

The identification of any patient as atopic, allows the physician to bring into play specific drugs, avoidance techniques and specific immunotherapy that he or she would hesitate to use without the proper diagnosis. The atopic patient with chronic complaints usually cannot be helped unless the diagnosis is established. For maximal efficacy, both the composition of the screening RAST battery and the interpretation of its results should be tempered by the individual patient's history and physical examination. Obviously, if certain allergen groups are clearly excluded by the history they need not be included in the overall profile. Decisions regarding important positive responses, screen reliability and treatment alternatives must be finalized only after consideration of all available clinical information