%0 Journal Article
%T Predictive value of IgE/IgG4 antibody ratio in children with egg allergy
%A Shidou Okamoto
%A Shoichiro Taniuchi
%A Kyoko Sudo
%A Yasuko Hatano
%A Keiji Nakano
%A Tomohiko Shimo
%A Kazunari Kaneko
%J Allergy, Asthma & Clinical Immunology
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1710-1492-8-9
%X The hen¡¯s egg oral food challenge test was performed in 105 sensitized children without atopic dermatitis, and the titers of egg white-specific immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) and immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies were measured. To set the cut-off values of IgG4, IgE, and the IgE/IgG4 ratio for predicting positive results in oral challenges, receiver operating characteristic curves were plotted and the area under the curves (AUC) were calculated.Sixty-four of 105 oral challenges with whole eggs were assessed as positive. The AUC for IgE, IgG4, and IgE/IgG4 for the prediction of positive results were 0.609, 0.724, and 0.847, respectively. Thus, the IgE/IgG4 ratio generated significantly higher specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value (%), and negative predictive value (%) than the individual IgE and IgG4. The negative predictive value of the IgE/IgG4 ratio was 90% at a value of 1.We have demonstrated that the egg white-specific serum IgE/IgG4 ratio is important for predicting reactivity to egg during food challenges.
%K Food allergy
%K IgG4
%K egg white
%K IgE
%K Food challenge
%U http://www.aacijournal.com/content/8/1/9/abstract