Comparison of the Responsiveness to Histamine and toAscaris suumChallenge in Dogs1–3

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Abstract
The pulmonary and dermal sensitivity of a group of mongrel dogs to an extract of Ascaris suum protein was compared with the pulmonary and dermal sensitivity to histamine in this same group. We found a modest but significant correlation in the entire population between skin test reaction to histamine and to A. suum protein (r = 0.52, p < 0.05), but when the skin test results were compared with those of aerosol challenge, no significant correlation was found. However, when those dogs with reactions to histamine challenge that fell within a narrow range were considered as a separate group, there was a significant correlation between the reactions of aerosol challenge with A. suum and those of the skin tests with A. suum (r = 0.56, p < 0.025). These findings were consistent with the hypothesis that aerosol bronchoconstrictor responsiveness and immunologic responsiveness are separate attributes that combine to determine airway responsiveness to a specific antigen.