Peer Reviewed
Practical procedures
Guidelines for performing a skin prick test
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Allergy
Allergy
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Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis
Abstract
Increasingly GPs are performing skin prick tests themselves. This is a brief guide to the procedure of skin prick testing and the interpretation of results.
Key Points
The skin prick test is a highly sensitive and generally well tolerated technique for detecting the presence of IgE-dependent immediate reactivity to protein or peptide allergens. It is the gold standard test for determining reactivity to aeroallergens and food proteins, but it is not relevant to the testing of low molecular weight chemical substances (such as food additives or volatile environmental pollutants) or delayed food reactions.
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