Skin sensitization to common allergens in Turkish wheezy children less than 3 years of age

Abstract

Infants and small children with asthma are not commonly skin tested, as allergy is not considered to be a major cause of infantile asthma. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of skin test positivity to various allergens in wheezy children less than 3 years of age. We evaluated 161 patients with infantile asthma (median age 20 months) and 100 healthy controls (median age 18 months). Infantile asthma was defined as three or more episodes of wheezing in a child less than 3 years of age, whose symptoms improved on treatment with beta-agonist and anti-inflammatory agents. All children were skin tested to house dust mites (HDM), pollens, molds, and cow milk extracts using prick technique. One hundred and eighteen (73.3%) children in the patient group tested positive to HDM, 84 (52.1%) to pollens, 37 (22.9%) to molds, and 16 (10%) to cow milk. Sensitization rates to HDM were significantly higher in the patient group than in the healthy controls. Sensitization rates to pollens were not statistically different between the two groups. There was no association between family history of atopy and frequency of sensitization to allergens in the wheezy and control groups. We concluded that skin sensitization to allergens was common in wheezy infants. The prevalence of sensitization to indoor allergens was higher than to outdoor or food allergens.