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Children's atopy and mastocytosis in the nasal smear
Insights
Nasal mast cell counts help diagnose childhood atopy and food allergy. High mast cell presence in nasal smears correlates with eosinophilia, indicating allergic conditions in children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
- Cellular Immunology
- Diagnostic Pathology
Background:
- Atopy and food allergy are common in children, often presenting with respiratory symptoms.
- Mast cells play a crucial role in allergic inflammation.
- Nasal smears offer a minimally invasive method to assess allergic markers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the role of mast cells in nasal smears for diagnosing atopy in children.
- To investigate the correlation between mast cells, eosinophils, and allergic conditions.
- To assess the utility of mast cell counts in identifying food allergy in young children.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of nasal secretion samples from 473 children (aged 0-15 years).
- Quantification of mast cells and eosinophils in nasal smears.
- Recording of eosinophil counts in blood and susceptibility to upper respiratory infections.
Main Results:
- A mast cell count >20 cells/slide indicated atopy.
- A significant correlation was observed between nasal eosinophilia and mastocytosis.
- In children aged 0-3 years, mastocytosis was strongly linked to food allergy.
Conclusions:
- Nasal mast cell examination is a valuable diagnostic tool for childhood atopy.
- This method is particularly useful for identifying food allergy in young children.
- Nasal mast cell counts are not sufficiently reliable as a sole screening test.
Abstract:
Nasal secretion samples from 473 children aged 0--15 years were studied in order to evaluate the role of mast cells in the nasal smear in different types of atopy and food allergy. The occurrence of eosinophils in the nasal secretion and in the blood, and susceptibility to upper respiratory infection were recorded. A mast cell count of more than 20 cells per slide was indicative of atopy and there was a clear correlation between eosinophilia and mastocytosis in the nasal smear. No type of allergy seemed to be significantly predominant in the total material, but in young children aged 0--3 years mastocytosis was clearly related to food allergy. The examination of nasal smears for mast cells is a valuable test in diagnosing atopy in children and especially food allergy among young children. However, the test is not reliable enough to be used as a single screening test.