Nasal allergen sensitivity and mucosal IgE antibodies.

Skin tests, nasal provocation tests, nasal smear tests, and serum-radioallergosorbent tests were performed on 17 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis, who had suffered nasal congestion without receiving any antiallergic treatment. After the above tests, tissue-radioallergosorbent tests (t-RAST) were conducted to determine IgE antibody levels in inferior turbinate mucosal samples taken peroperatively. The results obtained in this study suggest that the allergen sensitivity of the nasal mucosa correlates to some extent with the mucosal IgE antibody level, and that the t-RAST can provide us with objective data about nasal allergen sensitivity.