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Skin-test reactions in chronic allergic rhinitis in Benin
Abstract
Background: Skin testing is an established mode of investigation of atopic allergic conditions, to determine the allergen or allergens responsible for clinical symptoms as well as the degree of reactivity in individual cases. However over the years little has been reported on the pattern of reactions in the common condition of allergic rhinitis in this part of the world.
Method: Seventy-five (75) patients with symptomatic chronic allergic rhinitis attending the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and forty -two (42) control subjects had skin prick tests performed on them for 11 different allergens.
Results: There were a significantly higher proportion of positive reactions in the rhinitis group (81%) than in the controls (36%). The commonest allergen detected was the House Dust mite (Dermatophagoides pterronysinnus) to which more than half of the rhinitis patients reacted as compared to less than a fifth of the control group. A positive reaction to multiple allergens was also common.
Conclusion: The skin test reaction is a valuable diagnostic index of the presence as well as the degree of allergic diathesis in allergic rhinitis in our environment. Although multiple reactions have been demonstrated, the house dust mite is the most common allergen incriminated in our patients.
Key Words: Skin test, rhinitis, allergy, sensitivity
Nig. J. of Surgical Research Vol.4(3-4) 2002: 75-89
Method: Seventy-five (75) patients with symptomatic chronic allergic rhinitis attending the Ear, Nose, and Throat Clinic of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and forty -two (42) control subjects had skin prick tests performed on them for 11 different allergens.
Results: There were a significantly higher proportion of positive reactions in the rhinitis group (81%) than in the controls (36%). The commonest allergen detected was the House Dust mite (Dermatophagoides pterronysinnus) to which more than half of the rhinitis patients reacted as compared to less than a fifth of the control group. A positive reaction to multiple allergens was also common.
Conclusion: The skin test reaction is a valuable diagnostic index of the presence as well as the degree of allergic diathesis in allergic rhinitis in our environment. Although multiple reactions have been demonstrated, the house dust mite is the most common allergen incriminated in our patients.
Key Words: Skin test, rhinitis, allergy, sensitivity
Nig. J. of Surgical Research Vol.4(3-4) 2002: 75-89
