There is no reliable test to diagnose cephalosporin-induced maculopapular exanthems (MPE). This study aimed to evaluate the role of enzyme-linked immunospot assay in the diagnosis of cephalosporin-induced MPE compared with skin testing. A total of 25 patients with a history of cephalosporin-induced MPE were skin tested and the frequencies of cephalosporin-specific interferon-γ-, interleukin-5-, and interleukin-10-releasing cells/10(6) peripheral blood mononuclear cells were measured after stimulating with the culprit drug, compared with 20 non-allergic controls. Values greater than means+2 standard deviations of the values in non-allergic controls were considered diagnostic. The study showed that the combination of interferon-γ and interleukin-5 enzyme-linked immunospot assays was more sensitive than skin testing to diagnose cephalosporin allergy (40% vs. 8%, p = 0.008) and sensitivity increased to 57.1% when the test was performed within 2 years of the drug reaction. Enzyme-linked immunospot assay is a promising tool for confirming the diagnosis of cephalosporin-induced MPE.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01248377.