Controversial techniques in allergy treatment.

The treatment of allergies is based more on sound scientific principles today than it was 20 years ago; however, allergy control still suffers from controversial diagnostic and treatment methods. Controlled studies have failed to support the skin titration (Rinkel method) used to establish an optimal dose for the relief of hay fever symptoms. Determining the clinical usefulness of cytotoxic testing is fraught with lack of clinical correlations and a high percentage of false positives. The results of double-blind studies demonstrated that cytotoxic testing is not a reliable diagnostic technique. Similarly, controlled studies do not corroborate the clinical usefulness proponents advocate for sublingual and provocative subcutaneous testing for diagnosing and treating allergy. The use of autogenous-urine immunization has no proven efficacy and can predispose the patient to potential harmful effects. These diagnostic modalities have not proved to be helpful and should not be employed in the assessment of the allergic patient.