Best tests December 2011 - Contents
Appropriate use of allergy testing in primary care
Most patients with suspected allergy can be adequately managed with medicines, appropriate advice and reassurance, without it being necessary to specifically identify the allergen. If medical treatment is inadequate to control symptoms, and identifying the likely cause would benefit management, then allergy testing for some conditions may be appropriate. Skin prick testing is the preferred initial test. Serum allergen-specific IgE tests can be useful when skin prick testing is considered unsuitable. The results of both of these allergy tests must be interpreted in the context of the clinical history as a positive result only reflects sensitisation and not necessarily allergic disease if there is no history of symptoms.
Quiz feedback: sodium and potassium imbalance
Feedback from the results of the Best Tests September, 2011 quiz, which focused on the primary care approach to investigating sodium and potassium imbalance.
