Table 3.

Sensitivity and specificity for all allergens estimated up against the three reference standards in five different concentrations

Allergen	Reference standard		Concentration of skin prick test solution (SU/mL)
			5555 (%)	15,666 (%)	50,000 (%)	150,000 (%)	450,000 (%)
Grass pollen	Case history	Sensitivity	72.6	79.3	84.8	87.3	89.0
		Specificity	59.3	53.3	54.7	54.7	50.7
	Previous SPT	Sensitivity	75.9	82.1	87.6	89.3	90.7
		Specificity	87.5	80.2	85.4	84.4	78.1
	Specific IgE	Sensitivity	82.8	89.3	93.5	95.0	95.0
		Specificity	87.2	80.8	80.8	79.2	71.2
House dust mite	Case history	Sensitivity	62.1	73.5	75.0	81.8	90.9
		Specificity	72.9	66.7	62.4	59.6	52.9
	Previous SPT	Sensitivity	61.0	70.9	74.4	79.4	85.2
		Specificity	91.1	86.1	83.5	80.4	70.3
	Specific IjE	Sensitivity	71.7	82.9	85.0	88.8	92.5
		Specificity	91.5	86.5	82.0	77.5	66.5
Birch pollen	Case (Hilary	Sensitivity	71.4	79.8	83.6	85.9	85.9
		Specificity	60.3	52.9	51.7	45.4	48.3
	Previous SPT	Sensitivity	73.8	83.3	85.8	88.7	89.5
		Specificity	85.7	80.0	77.1	69.5	76.2
	Specific IgE	Sensitivity	80.6	90.9	94.8	95.2	96.4
		Specificity	86.7	83.0	83.0	71.9	77.8
Mugwort pollen	Case history	Sensitivity	28.9	43.0	50.0	57.9	66.7
		Specificity	85.7	80.2	75.5	72.5	60.1
	Previous SPT	Sensitivity	29.7	42.2	49.0	53.1	63.0
		Specificity	93.2	89.5	84.7	81.1	68.4
	Specific IgE	Sensitivity	38.2	55.0	60.3	67.2	85.5
		Specificity	91.4	87.9	82.4	79.3	71.5