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Minimum prick test panel for adult patients with asthma and rhinitis in Ankara, Turkey
Sule Comert1, A Ugur Demir, Gul Karakaya
1Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Chest Diseases , School of Medicine, Hacettepe University, Sihhiye, Ankara , Turkey and.
Objective:
Determination of the number and type of allergens needed to be tested in epidemiological studies is important in order to identify most of the sensitized subjects with a cost-effective approach. This study aimed to investigate the minimum skin prick test panel for the identification of at least 95% of the sensitized subjects with symptoms of asthma and/or allergic rhinitis (AR) in Ankara, Turkey.
Methods:
Skin prick test results of 7492 patients who were referred to our outpatient clinic with clinical symptoms of asthma and/or AR between 1991 and 2005 were evaluated retrospectively. Seven allergens were tested in all and 13 allergens in 4202 patients. The allergen group needed for detection of 95% of the sensitized subjects was determined for both the 7 and 13 allergen panels. The study protocol was approved by the local ethics committee of Hacettepe University.
Results:
The atopy prevalences in the whole study population and in 4202 patients tested with the 13 allergen panel were calculated as 32.2% and 42.6%, respectively. Three allergens (Phleum pratense, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and Artemisia vulgaris) within the 7 allergen panel were adequate for the identification of at least 95% of the sensitized subjects. Olea europae was added to the previous three allergens when the 13 allergen panel was applied.
Conclusion:
Three to four allergens are sufficient for identification at least 95% of sensitized subjects with asthma and/or AR in Ankara, Turkey.
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