E.D.P.A.®

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Mario Principato

The E.D.P.A.®, or Indoor Dust Direct Examination, was developed and patented by Prof. Mario Principato, an entomologist and acarologist of the University of Perugia (http://www.marioprincipato.it/e-d-p-a/). The diagnostic efficacy of this innovative method has been tested  for twenty years in collaboration with the dermatologists of the Italian Society of blankAllergological Professional and Environmental Dermatology (SIDAPA) and, above all, with the specialists of the Section of Clinical, Allergological and Venereological Dermatology of the University of Perugia (see scientific publications).

Purposes of the E. D.P.A.®:

The purposes of the E.D.P.A.®  are to know if you have an arthropod infestation in your house, which pathogens there are  and where they  are located and also to receive appropriate instructions to eliminate them. If this is your case, in fact, our Centre will advise you what to do in order to solve the environmental problem, and this inevitably will result in the resolution of your dermatological problems. The E.D.P.A.® is the only method currently available to understand how to resolve an infestation targetedly, minimizing the use of insecticides in the environment where you live, leading, in most cases, to the spontaneous resolution of the pathology, avoiding the use of creams, ointments or systemic drugs and, in the worst cases, unnecessary hospitalisations.

What is the E.D.P.A.®? This examination consists in the microscopic search of the traces left by pathogenic insects and mites in confined environmental dusts. These traces are appropriately isolated, identified and evaluated under the parasitological aspects, thus identifying the causal agent of the dermatitis.

Who can apply for the E.D.P.A.®? All of you. Anyone who has problems with itching or stinging inside his home or has the feeling that something is walking on his or her skin. Also doctors who want to deepen the etiology of a dermatitis or want to exclude its environmental origin may require an E.D.P.A. Even the exterminators who want to discover the sites of development of the pests to get a targeted pest control may require an E.D.P.A.®.

When will you receive the outcome of the exam? A report of the exam is generally sent to the email address you have supplied within 24-48 hours after the arrival of the dust samples at our Laboratory.

What will the report sent to you contain? The report will contain the name of the parasite responsible for your dermatitis and of others of lesser health interest. There will be specified the quantity, the vital state, the provenance and the health role of all the pathogens. Each of them will be accompanied by a sheet containing its biology and the pathogenic role. The state of the house will be assessed and the presumed origin of dermopathy explained.

The report will explain how to solve the infestation? Certainly. The report will always show  the best strategy for solving the infestation on your own and in the shortest possible time. The recommended intervention will naturally lead to the resolution of dermatitis.

Is there any chance of error? No, there is not any. Since the E.D.P.A.® is a direct examination, there is no possibility of diagnostic error, as samples are directly examined by specialists in the sector and the possible arthropods present in the dust, which are pathogenic and responsible for dermopathy, are always isolated, prepared and identified up to the species.