EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MOLECULAR ALLERGY DIAGNOSTIC METHODS IN THE PERSONALIZED MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS WITH ALLERGIC RHINITIS

Abstract

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common IgE-mediated condition that significantly reduces quality of life. Conventional diagnostic methods do not always allow for the accurate identification of causative allergens, especially in cases of polysensitization. Objective: A comparative evaluation of the effectiveness of two molecular allergy diagnostic methods—ImmunoCAP and immunochemiluminescent assay (ICLA)—in patients with allergic rhinitis. Methods: A retrospective study involving 60 patients with confirmed AR was conducted. Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, and overall diagnostic performance of the methods were analyzed. Pearson’s chi-squared test, ROC analysis, and calculation of AUC were applied. Results: ImmunoCAP demonstrated a sensitivity of 87.8% and an AUC of 0.88. ICLA showed higher specificity (61.3%) and an AUC of 0.79. PPV was comparable (66.7% vs. 65.7%), whereas NPV was higher for ICLA (76.0% vs. 16.7%). The differences between the methods were statistically significant (p = 0.001). Conclusions: Both methods are valuable tools in the diagnosis of AR. ImmunoCAP is preferable for the initial detection of sensitization, while ICLA is more suitable for confirming clinically relevant allergy and minimizing false-positive results.