Influence of month of birth on house dust mite allergy

We determined the birth month of a sample of 208 patients with bronchial asthma or rhinitis and positive skin test to house dust mite. The majority of patients were born in the summer and autumn months. The increased incidence of house dust mite allergy in patients born in the months of July to September, when house dust mites are most abundant, corresponds to a relative risk of 1.43. It is important that exposure to house dust mites in early childhood is kept to a minimum as exposure to allergens may influence the development of allergic disease in later life. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

Neutrophil chemotaxis in children with extrinsic bronchial asthma.

PubMedID: 8055555Chemotactic activities of neutrophils were studied in 20 patients with bronchial asthma and 20 healthy matched controls. Chemotaxis studies were performed by the millipore filter technique using modified Boyden chambers. Mean neutrophil chemotactic activities of asthma and control groups were 17.82 +/- 7.87 microns and 14.09 +/- 6.07 microns; mean chemotactic indexes were 2.04 +/- 0.44 and 1.84 +/- 0.60 and mean random migrations were 9.53 +/- 4.61 microns and 7.93 +/- 3.33 microns, respectively. No significant difference was found between the two groups (p > 0.05)

Mold allergy in Adana, Turkey.

PubMedID: 8059675In order to investigate the possible role of molds in respiratory allergy, skin prick tests with the extracts of 19 different fungi were applied to 614 respiratory allergic patients. Indoor mold samples of some of these mold sensitive patients are also presented. Most of the patients (72.6%) had extrinsic asthma while 27.4% having allergic rhinitis. The diagnosis was based on history, clinical examination and skin prick test which was done according to Peppy's method. Aspergillus fumigatus was the most important fungus causing skin test positivity (26.0%). Trichophyton rubrum, Mucor, Penicillium notatum, Aspergillus niger and Alternaria tenius species were also important in decreasing frequencies. A total of 26 species were isolated and Penicillium was the most important one (29.6%). Molds are thought to play an important role as causative agents for allergic rhinitis and asthma

Inhalant allergens: As a cause of respiratory allergy in east Mediterranean area, Turkey

PubMedID: 8766742Inhalant allergens were identified by analyzing the positive skin tests of 614 respiratory allergic patients. The important indoor allergens causing skin test positivity were house dust, Dermatophogoides pteronyssinus, cockroach, mosquito and Dermatophogoides farinea. Johnson grass, cultivated wheat, rye, orchard, and cultivated corn were among important grass pollens. Animal allergens like cow hair, cat and dog dander, bird and chicken feathers and horse hair caused skin test positivity in our allergic patients. Weeds and garden plants were also among important inhalant allergens in this region. Common cocklebur, narcissus, rose, mugworth, and daisy caused skin test positivity in decreasing frequencies. Carob, willow, poplar, olive and cypress pollens were among important inhalant allergens causing skin test positivity that may be important cause of respiratory allergy in this region

Pneumomediastinum and pneumopericardium: Unusual and rare complications of asthma in a 4 years old girl

PubMedID: 11449532We describe a 4-year-old girl with asthma who presented with pneumomediastinum, pneumopericardium and subcutaneous emphysema. She was admitted to our hospital with dyspnea, chest pain, palpitation and cough of two days duration. She had attacks of cough, dyspnea and wheezing from two years of age, but she did not have a diagnosis of asthma previously. She was dyspneic and had subcutaneous emphysema in the neck, axilla and thorax. In the skin prick test (Center Lab. USA) she had positive reaction to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, mold mix, tree mix and grass mix. Pulmonary function tests could not be performed. In the chest X-ray air was seen in mediastinum and subcutaneous area and the epicardium was surrounded completely with air. She was treated successfully with inhaled salbutamol and budesonide. Radiological signs of pneumopericardium and pneumomediastinum disappeared completely in ten days period. In the light of this case we want to mention that early diagnosis and treatment of asthma should be done to prevent serious complication of asthma