Commercial availability of a house dust mite patch test

The house dust mite long has been studied for its potential role in atopic dermatitis. Its part in the pathogenesis of asthma and allergic rhinitis has been studied and is accepted. Testing for the dust mite allergen in this arena is performed with radioallergosorbent tests (RASTs) and prick testing. For several reasons, including the lack of a standardized testing tool, the difficulty in removing dust from the environment and the lack of association of dust and skin disease by patients, the role of the house dust mite in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and skin disease has been questioned. Chemotechnique Diagnostics (Malmo, Sweden) now provides a standardized dust mite allergen in petrolatum in 2 concentrations. Dermatophagoides mix is a 50:50 mix of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and D. farinae at concentrations of 20% and 30%. The availability of a standardized patch test allergen for the house dust mite provides a better tool to investigate the role of this allergen as a contactant.