Clinical Abstracts: Electrodermal Testing for Allergies
Clinical Abstracts: Electrodermal Testing for Allergies
With Comments by Steven Bratman, MD
Source: Lewith GT, et al. Is electrodermal testing as effective as skin prick tests for diagnosing allergies? A double blind, randomised block design study. BMJ 2001; 322:131-134.
Some alternative medicine practitioners promote the Vegatest machine, an unconventional device that purportedly identifies allergies by measuring electrical resistance over acupuncture points while the tested substance is placed within the electrical circuit. The technique, also called electrodermal testing, recently was tested in a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.
Four Vegatest practitioners, each with at least 10 years of experience, assessed 30 volunteers, half of whom had known allergies to house dust mites or cat dander (as determined by skin testing). A total of 1,596 allergy tests were performed; the Vegatest machine was unable to distinguish between allergic and non-allergic individuals. In addition, no individual practitioner was more accurate than the others.
Comment: Skin testing for cat and dust mite allergies has been well established as reliable. This study shows that the Vegatest machine is not.
Bratman S. Electrodermal testing for allergies. Altern Ther Women's Health 2002;4:16.Subscribe Now for Access
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