Background: In the last ten years, the introduction of the component resolved diagnosis (CRD) has revolutionized allergy diagnostics with a strong clinical impact in respiratory, hymenoptera and food allergy. However, its use and the diagnostic algorithms implemented by each laboratory seem somewhat different across the national territory. In order to have a clearer picture on how this diagnostics is used in Italy, the Study Group in Allergology (GDS-ALL) of the Italian Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (SIPMeL) has conducted a survey relating to the year 2019, among Italian laboratories that deal with allergy diagnostics to assess the level of implementation of new technologies, the knowledge and application of the recommended diagnostic algorithms and, more generally, the degree and type of organization adopted. Methods: A questionnaire consisting of 47 items divided into five sections was distributed in January 2020 through the SurveyMonkey (Momentive Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA) platform to public and private laboratories throughout the country. The questions were formulated to investigate aspects relating to the type of laboratory, the number of users served, and the number of allergy tests carried out, the type of requests received and their management, the technologies used and their level of automation, the reference intervals and, finally, the relationship with patients, hospital clinicians and general practitioners. Results: Seventy-four laboratories representing all Italian regions responded to the survey, of which 68% are located in public hospitals, 12% are related to university hospitals and 20% to private structures. 9.9% of the participants stated that they had performed specific IgE on several patients greater than 50, 000/year, 15.5% between 10-50, 000, another 15.5% between 5-10, 000, 31% between 1-5000 and the remaining 28.1%, mainly represented by private structures, with less than 1000 patients per year. Among the methods of investigation, 83% of the participants use the fluoroimmunoenzymatic technique (FEIA) and 21% chemiluminescence assays (CLIA) (4% use both technologies). 85% of the laboratories interviewed perform molecular diagnostics and 29% of them are also equipped with the multiplex platform. Almost all laboratories make use of complete automation: 52% of the participants stated that they include an interpretative comment in the report. More than half of the laboratories claim to have of collaborative relationship with hospital clinicians, and 45% declare that they have a satisfactory relationship with general practitioners. The consultancy activity regarding allergy diagnostics is practiced by more than half of the participants. Conclusions: The results obtained from the survey represent a snapshot of the current situation of Italian allergology laboratories, highlighting how most of them have responded positively to the needs for change related to the increasing request of molecular diagnostics in medical prescriptions. However, improvement in the correct use of the proposed algorithms is still necessary in order to obtain an accurate profile of allergenic sensitization effective in supporting the clinical decision.
Indagine nazionale del Gruppo di Studio in Allergologia (GdS-ALL): stato dell’arte dei laboratori allergologici italiani nel 2019
Caponi L.;
2022-01-01
Abstract
Background: In the last ten years, the introduction of the component resolved diagnosis (CRD) has revolutionized allergy diagnostics with a strong clinical impact in respiratory, hymenoptera and food allergy. However, its use and the diagnostic algorithms implemented by each laboratory seem somewhat different across the national territory. In order to have a clearer picture on how this diagnostics is used in Italy, the Study Group in Allergology (GDS-ALL) of the Italian Society of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (SIPMeL) has conducted a survey relating to the year 2019, among Italian laboratories that deal with allergy diagnostics to assess the level of implementation of new technologies, the knowledge and application of the recommended diagnostic algorithms and, more generally, the degree and type of organization adopted. Methods: A questionnaire consisting of 47 items divided into five sections was distributed in January 2020 through the SurveyMonkey (Momentive Inc., San Mateo, CA, USA) platform to public and private laboratories throughout the country. The questions were formulated to investigate aspects relating to the type of laboratory, the number of users served, and the number of allergy tests carried out, the type of requests received and their management, the technologies used and their level of automation, the reference intervals and, finally, the relationship with patients, hospital clinicians and general practitioners. Results: Seventy-four laboratories representing all Italian regions responded to the survey, of which 68% are located in public hospitals, 12% are related to university hospitals and 20% to private structures. 9.9% of the participants stated that they had performed specific IgE on several patients greater than 50, 000/year, 15.5% between 10-50, 000, another 15.5% between 5-10, 000, 31% between 1-5000 and the remaining 28.1%, mainly represented by private structures, with less than 1000 patients per year. Among the methods of investigation, 83% of the participants use the fluoroimmunoenzymatic technique (FEIA) and 21% chemiluminescence assays (CLIA) (4% use both technologies). 85% of the laboratories interviewed perform molecular diagnostics and 29% of them are also equipped with the multiplex platform. Almost all laboratories make use of complete automation: 52% of the participants stated that they include an interpretative comment in the report. More than half of the laboratories claim to have of collaborative relationship with hospital clinicians, and 45% declare that they have a satisfactory relationship with general practitioners. The consultancy activity regarding allergy diagnostics is practiced by more than half of the participants. Conclusions: The results obtained from the survey represent a snapshot of the current situation of Italian allergology laboratories, highlighting how most of them have responded positively to the needs for change related to the increasing request of molecular diagnostics in medical prescriptions. However, improvement in the correct use of the proposed algorithms is still necessary in order to obtain an accurate profile of allergenic sensitization effective in supporting the clinical decision.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
