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[Allergentesting in children with asthma bronchiale (author's transl)]
Monatsschrift Fur Kinderheilkunde
|August 1, 1975
Summary
Intradermal skin tests identified allergic triggers in asthmatic children, but bronchial challenges confirmed only a subset caused airway obstruction. This selective approach guides hyposensitization therapy for better asthma management.
Area of Science:
- Allergy and Immunology
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Respiratory Medicine
Context:
- Asthma affects millions of children, with allergens playing a significant role in symptom exacerbation.
- Accurate identification of causative allergens is crucial for effective asthma management and treatment strategies.
- Traditional allergy testing methods may not always correlate with direct airway responses.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the correlation between positive intradermal skin tests and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in asthmatic children.
- To assess the efficacy of controlled bronchial inhalation tests in identifying allergens that provoke bronchus obstruction.
- To determine the utility of these findings in guiding allergen-specific immunotherapy (hyposensitization).
Summary:
- Out of 938 intradermal tests on 67 asthmatic children, 31.8% were positive to various allergens.
- Bronchial inhalation tests on 298 allergens revealed that only 105 (35.2%) induced bronchus obstruction in 44 children.
- Histamine hyperresponsiveness was noted in 13 children; late asthmatic reactions were observed primarily with house dust.
Impact:
- This study highlights the importance of bronchial challenge tests to confirm allergens responsible for actual airway obstruction, not just skin sensitization.
- The findings support a refined approach to hyposensitization, focusing on allergens that elicit a direct bronchoconstrictive response.
- This method can lead to more targeted and potentially more effective asthma treatment by selecting specific allergens for immunotherapy.