BACKGROUND: The most common tools of allergologic diagnostics are skinprick tests (SPT) and total serum IgE (IgE(total)) determinations. Material/Methods: The study was carriedout in a group of 348 children aged 5 to 36 months. All the children underwent SPT using 12 food allergensand in 229 of them also 9 inhalant allergens were tested. Assessment of test positivity utilized relativecriteria, i.e. the result was regarded as positive if a wheal with S surface area exceeding or equalto 0.25 of the surface area S0 of a control wheal was formed. In this study group, 291 had IgE(total)levels determined. They were divided into the groups with elevated and normal IgE(total) levels on thebasis of two standards, i.e. the standards recommended by the manufacturer of the test reagents usedto determine IgE(total) (BioWhittaker) and the population standards. RESULTS: Positive SPT results forfood allergens were obtained in 15.8% of the examined children, for inhalant ones in 21.8%. The factorstaken into account in the analysis of impact on SPT results included age, sex, living place and the usediet. Elevated IgE(total) levels according to the manufacturer's standards were detected in 35.0%, andaccording to the population standards in 67.0% of the examined children. The obtained positive test resultswere compared with elevated IgE(total) in the studied patients. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Feasibility of SPT atthis age. 2. Determination of normal IgE(total) range in the group of children below three requires furtherstudies.

Keywords: Allergens, Cattle, Child, Preschool, Dairy Products, Environmental Exposure, Food Hypersensitivity, Immunoglobulin E, Infant Food, Milk Hypersensitivity, Milk, Human, Plants, Rural Population, Skin Tests, Urban Population