Smith D H, Wilson T, Berezancev J A, Lykov V, Paing M, Chari M V, Davis A
Bull World Health Organ. 1971;44(6):771-82.
Conflicting opinions on the value of a skin test in the diagnosis of human filariasis emphasized the need for a careful examination of this procedure. The evaluation was made by asking workers in different countries to use an antigen prepared from Dirofilaria immitis in groups of people who could be examined for parasitic infection.In one non-endemic area, repeated tests over a 1-year period did not lead to sensitization, but the reactions of individuals varied from test to test. In endemic areas of filariasis, exposure to infective bites seemed to influence the pattern of skin reactions to a greater degree than did the development of overt infection with Wuchereria bancrofti. No particular size of reaction could be considered indicative of filarial infection.THE VALUE OF THE SKIN TEST WITH THIS ANTIGEN SEEMS LIMITED TO TWO SITUATIONS: (1) a large reaction may help to confirm a clinical diagnosis of filariasis when parasites cannot be found, and (2) the frequency distribution of skin reaction sizes in local populations may help, where blood surveys are impossible, to indicate areas in which some filarial infection is being transmitted.Results of skin test surveys should be expressed as frequency distributions of reaction sizes and negative/positive classification should be avoided.
关于皮肤试验在人类丝虫病诊断中的价值存在相互矛盾的观点，这凸显了对该检测方法进行仔细评估的必要性。评估方式是让不同国家的工作人员在一组可接受寄生虫感染检查的人群中使用由犬恶丝虫制备的抗原。在一个非流行地区，为期1年的重复检测并未导致致敏，但个体的反应在不同检测之间存在差异。在丝虫病流行地区，与班氏吴策线虫显性感染的发展相比，暴露于感染性叮咬似乎对皮肤反应模式的影响更大。没有特定大小的反应可被视为丝虫感染的指征。使用这种抗原进行皮肤试验的价值似乎仅限于两种情况：（1）当找不到寄生虫时，强烈反应可能有助于确诊丝虫病的临床诊断；（2）在无法进行血液调查的情况下，当地人群皮肤反应大小的频率分布可能有助于指示正在传播某种丝虫感染的地区。皮肤试验调查结果应以反应大小的频率分布来表示，应避免阴性/阳性分类。
