Atopic dermatitis and food allergy

In order to determine the importance of food sensitization in the etiopathogenesis of atopic dermatitis, we performed a study on 74 patients who fulfilled a previously suggested diagnosis criteria. Of these patients, 17.5% presented allergic rhinitis and 62.2% had associated bronchial asthma. We found that in 64.9% of the patients there was a food sensitization, with milk (36.5%), egg (35.1%) and fish (21.6%) being the most frequently involved. We also observed that 34% of the patients were sensitized to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and 24.3% to pollen. These sensitizations were confirmed by means of skin tests, specific IgE and antigen-specific histamine release test. The patients underwent a 3-year follow-up in order to find out the clinical evolution once the causal food was avoided and/or a symptomatic treatment was prescribed. The group of patients with no food sensitization was significantly different from the group with food sensitization: in the first group only 20% of the patients presented a very good clinical evolution (asymptomatic), while in the second group, in 71.4% of the patients the symptoms completely stopped. Nevertheless, in the first year follow-up, we found no significant differences between the two groups. In conclusion, a diet avoiding the causal food combined with a suitable symptomatic treatment, led to an important remission of the skin manifestations in children diagnosed with atopic dermatitis.