Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 25, 2026

Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels
05:31

Noninvasive Sampling of Mucosal Lining Fluid for the Quantification of In Vivo Upper Airway Immune-mediator Levels

Published on: August 7, 2017

Streptococcus pyogenes upper respiratory infection and atopic conditions other than asthma: a retrospective cohort

Young J Juhn1, Diana Frey, Xujian Li

  • 1Department of Community Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55944, USA. juhn.young@mayo.edu

Primary Care Respiratory Journal : Journal of the General Practice Airways Group
|January 25, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Children with allergic rhinitis face a higher risk of Streptococcus pyogenes upper respiratory infections. This study found that allergic rhinitis, unlike atopic dermatitis, increases susceptibility to these common bacterial infections in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Immunology of allergic diseases
  • Microbial pathogenesis

Background:

  • Asthma is linked to increased Streptococcus pyogenes infection risk.
  • The risk of Streptococcus pyogenes infections in children with atopic dermatitis or allergic rhinitis is not well understood.
  • Investigating non-asthma atopic conditions and their association with S. pyogenes is crucial for pediatric health.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the risk of Streptococcus pyogenes upper respiratory tract infections in children and adolescents with atopic dermatitis and/or allergic rhinitis.
  • To compare S. pyogenes infection incidence in children with and without diagnosed atopic conditions.
  • To determine the association between allergic rhinitis, atopic dermatitis, and S. pyogenes infections, controlling for asthma.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective cohort study of 340 healthy children, with 327 eligible.
  • Atopic conditions (atopic dermatitis/eczema, allergic rhinitis/hay fever) identified via physician diagnosis in medical records.
  • Collected laboratory data (cultures, rapid antigen detection, PCR) for S. pyogenes infections up to age 18; Poisson regression used for analysis.

Main Results:

  • 143 (44%) of eligible children had atopic conditions other than asthma.
  • Incidence of S. pyogenes infections was 0.24 per person-year for children with atopic conditions vs. 0.18 per person-year for those without.
  • Adjusted risk ratios indicated allergic rhinitis (1.36) was significantly associated with increased S. pyogenes risk (p=0.011), while atopic dermatitis (1.30) showed a non-significant trend (p=0.06).

Conclusions:

  • Allergic rhinitis is associated with an increased risk of Streptococcus pyogenes upper respiratory tract infections in children.
  • Atopic dermatitis, unlike allergic rhinitis, was not significantly associated with an increased risk of S. pyogenes infections in this cohort.
  • Findings highlight the importance of considering allergic rhinitis in the context of recurrent S. pyogenes infections in pediatric populations.
Abstract

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