The use of provocation tests for the diagnosis of allergic conjunctivitis caused by Japanese cedar.

An anti-allergic agent (disodium cromoglycate; DSCG) was instilled in the conjunctiva of patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis during the quiescent period and, 5 minutes later, a provocation test was administered to the same patients. The extent of improvement of both subjective and objective symptoms and changes in the refractory indices of the tear samples were observed sequentially. Utilizing this method, q quantitative determination of therapeutic efficacy of the anti-allergic agent was attempted. 1. It was confirmed that DSCG improves the allergic responses, i.e., subjective and objective symptoms and the refractory indices of tears, within 5 to 10 minutes after its instillation. 2. It was established that the therapeutic efficacy of DSCG can be judged by the allergic response expressed by the refractory indices of the tear samples. 3. The quantity of the tear sample collected from individuals differs. Difficulties in collecting a sufficient quantity and the time required in the collection procedure present a technical problem in determination of refractory indices. Future improvement in the procedure is expected.