Variations of histamine release in an atopic population. I. Clinical situation and seasons

Two hundred and twenty-six patients (195 asthmatics and 31 rhinitics) sensitive to D. pteronyssinus were studied. Histamine release tests were performed on them and the results obtained were analyzed with respect to 3 variables: clinical situation (symptomatic and asymptomatic), diagnosis (asthma or rhinitis), and the month of extraction. There were no significant differences between the total and basal histamine in the various groups. The symptomatic individuals (48.66 +/- 29.66 ng/ml) released a greater amount of histamine than the asympomatic group (39.47 +/- 21.07 ng/ml) (p less than 0.05). There was no difference with regards to the diagnosis, although symptomatic asthmatics released more histamine than active rhinitics (p less than 0.01). These patients released more histamine during spring and autumn than during the other two seasons.