Basophil activation test: Technical aspects, methodology and clinical utility

Abstract

Introduction: Basophil activation test (BAT) is considered a reliable and safe technique for diagnosing allergic diseases. Objective: To make a thorough analysis of the state of the art regarding BAT and its clinical utility. Materials and methods: A narrative literature review of BAT and its clinical utility in the management of allergic diseases was performed in the Ovid Medline, Google Scholar and PubMed databases and metasearch engines, without limiting the search by date, language or type of article. Results: Regarding basophil activation markers, CD63 is the most studied and the best representative of anaphylactic degranulation, while CD203c is representative of several types of degranulation. The superiority of one activation marker over the other as a diagnostic tool depends on the allergic disease under study. With respect to basophil detection methods, selection with a single marker, CCR3, is proposed as an option with a good cost-effectiveness ratio. Conclusions: BAT is a promising tool to evaluate clinically allergic reactions in a safe manner. Better standardization of protocols is necessary to achieve reproducible results.