The clinical utility of basophil activation testing in diagnosis and monitoring of XXXX .

@entity1 @entity566 @entity56 @entity110 @entity5775
The basophil activation test (BAT) has become a pervasive test for @entity56 response through the development of flow cytometry, discovery of activation markers such as @entity5775 and unique markers identifying basophil granulocytes. Basophil activation test measures basophil response to allergen cross-linking IgE on between 150 and 2000 basophil granulocytes in <0.1 ml fresh blood. Dichotomous activation is assessed as the fraction of reacting basophils. In addition to clinical history, skin prick test, and specific IgE determination, BAT can be a part of the diagnostic evaluation of @entity1 with food-, insect venom-, and drug @entity566 and chronic @entity110 . It may be helpful in determining the clinically relevant allergen. Basophil sensitivity may be used to monitor @entity1 on allergen immunotherapy, anti-IgE treatment or in the natural resolution of @entity566 . Basophil activation test may use fewer resources and be more reproducible than challenge testing. As it is less stressful for the @entity1 and avoids severe @entity56 , BAT ought to precede challenge testing. An important next step is to standardize BAT and make it available in diagnostic laboratories. The nature of basophil activation as an ex vivo challenge makes it a multifaceted and promising tool for the allergist. In this EAACI task force position paper, we provide an overview of the practical and technical details as well as the clinical utility of BAT in diagnosis and management of @entity56 .
