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Pulmonary functions in atopic and nonatopic asthmatic children
F Gürkan1, M Davutog Lu, M Bilici
1Assoc. Prof. Dr., Medical School, Diyarbakr, Turkey.
Insights
Asthma severity in children is linked to skin test positivity for allergens. Children with multiple sensitivities face higher risks of severe asthma attacks and symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Respiratory Medicine
- Clinical Immunology
Background:
- Investigated the relationship between aeroallergen sensitization and clinical characteristics in pediatric asthma.
- Assessed lung function and laboratory markers in relation to skin test results.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine how lung function and clinical features of childhood asthma are affected by skin test positivity to aeroallergens.
- To identify risk factors for severe asthma based on allergen sensitization profiles.
Main Methods:
- Conducted skin prick tests with 10 aeroallergens in 56 asthmatic children (aged 5-15).
- Measured lung function using spirometry (FEV1, FVC, PEF).
- Analyzed clinical data including breastfeeding duration, age of cow's milk introduction, serum IgE, age of asthma onset, and attack frequency.
Main Results:
- 62% of subjects were monosensitized, and 30% were polysensitized.
- Positive skin tests correlated with reduced FEV1, FVC, and PEF.
- Polysensitized children had more frequent and severe asthma attacks and allergic conjunctivitis compared to non-sensitized and monosensitized groups.
- Significant differences observed in breastfeeding duration, age of cow's milk introduction, total serum IgE, age of asthma onset, and attack frequency between prick test-positive and -negative asthmatics.
Conclusions:
- Positive skin prick test results, particularly to dust mite, cat, and dog allergens, are associated with an increased risk of severe asthma in children.
- Allergen sensitization plays a significant role in asthma severity and clinical presentation.
- Early-onset asthma and higher IgE levels are linked to sensitization and potentially more severe disease.
Background:
we examined how lung function and certain clinical and laboratory characteristics in asthmatic children were changed according to skin test positivity to aeroallergens.
Methods:
a skin prick test was conducted using standardized extracts of 10 different allergens in 56 children with bronchial asthma, aged 5-15 years, in Dicle University Hospital. Lung function was measured by Microplus spirometer.
Results:
among the 56 subjects, asthma was classified as mild in 16, moderate in 42 and severe in 3. At least one skin prick test was positive (monosensitized) in 35 subjects (62 %) and positive reactivity to two or more aeroallergens (polysensitized) was found in 17 subjects (30 %). Positive skin test reactions to aeroallergens were associated with a decrease (as percentage of the predicted decrease) in FEV1, FVC and PEF values. Significant differences were also found between prick test-positive and -negative asthmatics in duration of breastfeeding (8.5 5 months vs 15 7 months, respectively, p < 0.007), age at which cow's milk had been started (5.7 1.6 vs 10.5 5.4, p = 0.004); total serum IgE concentration (350 221 IU/ml vs 234 164 IU/ml, p = 0.02), age at onset of asthma symptoms (2.5 1.9 years vs 4.1 2.2 years) and number of asthma attacks per year (7.0 3.1 vs 5.2 3.5, p = 0.012). When one-way ANOVA and a post-Hoc test were used, asthma attacks were more frequent and severe and allergic conjunctivitis symptoms were more frequent in the polysensitized group than in the nonsensitized and monosensitized groups (p = 0.03).
Conclusions:
children with positive skin prick test results, especially those with combined sensitivity to dust mite, cat and dog, were at increase risk of more severe asthma.