| Allergic rhinitis afflicts millions of Americans and is the cause of significant morbidity. Although diagnostics routinely include detailed histories and physical examinations, results of physical examinations can be deceiving. Clinicians operating under this level of uncertainty, therefore, may order or perform ancillary diagnostic measures such as in vivo or in vitro quantification of serum IgE.;We analyzed and reported on patient assessments concerning whether---if having been skin-, blood-, or skin- and blood-tested for inhalant allergens---personal lifestyle or physician management change had been made pursuant to allergy test results. Only cases responding in the affirmative proceeded through additional data analyses. Propensity score 1:1 matching with replacement was used to balance covariates across treatment (allergy tested) and control groups (not allergy tested). Data were collected from a large Midwestern managed care organization's database and augmented by survey data.;Three quality-of-life instruments (MiniRQLQ, Allergy Outcomes Survey (AOS), and the SF-8) were used to discriminate levels of health. Percent overall work impairment and lost wages, constructed from components of the Allergy Specific Work Productivity and Activity Impairment (WPAI-AS) Questionnaire, were assessed along with a total allergy symptom score.;Useable survey count was 1,030/2,050 yielding an effective response rate of 50%. Bootstrapped mean group differences were significant only for allergy prescription and non-prescription allergy-linked medical charges. Compared with the non-allergy treated controls, individuals in the allergy-tested group, on average, accounted for as little as ;Because lesser levels of health are likely to be associated with the motivation for allergy testing, the allergy-testing treatment effect---mediated by increased allergy medication use---may have resulted in quality-of-life parameters that were indistinguishable between treatment (tested) and control (non-tested) groups. |
