Diagnosis of allergic disease.

The diagnosis of allergic disease has to be individualized to each patient. In general, it consists of a good clinical history, a physical examination, and identification of specific relevant allergies by both in vitro and in vivo tests. These will contribute to an assessment of the patient's clinical status and severity of disease. One must always be aware that nonallergic mechanisms can also trigger an attack in atopic individuals. These are clinically indistinguishable from those provoked by an allergen-IgE immune response. We predict that the computer and accurate in vitro tests will join us in our offices. Before the end of this century, this high technology will make the clinical allergist a very precise diagnostician.