VALIDA project: Validation of allergy diagnostics assays (Tools and recommendations for the assessment of tests in the diagnosis of allergy).

allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) detection and quantification tests are routinely performed in clinical laboratories to diagnose patients with a suspected allergy. Numerous commercial assays are available to test for allergies, but the results can vary widely, thereby influencing both diagnosis and treatment. Given the challenges posed by differences in the various assays for determination of specific IgE, a group of experts has compiled in a document a series of recommendations on the implications that the use of a certain technique may have and the impact on the management of the allergic patient that the differences between the various techniques represent. The reading and analysis of this consensus document will help to understand the implications of the change of diagnostic method in the management of the patient with allergy, in the quality of life and in the socioeconomic costs associated with the disease.