Appropriate allergy testing and interpretation.

In vitro tests for specific IgE allow primary care providers to do allergy testing, which can be helpful for allergic patients. Diagnostic testing for allergies is used to determine whether symptoms are caused by IgE antibodies and exposure to an allergen. The presence of IgE in the absence of symptoms does not indicate clinical allergy. Nonselective use of large panels of allergens can lead to false positives and misinterpretation of the results, particularly in food allergy.