Affiliations 

  • 1 Irnran Gurbachan, MBBS, FRCS (Ed). Associate Professor, Head ENT Dept, Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Hamimah Idruss, MBBS (Tasmania), MPH & TM (Tulane). Head of Parasitology Dept, Faculty of Medicine, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Med J Malaysia, 1983 Jun;38(2):121-5.
PMID: 6621441

Abstract

This study shows that out of 774 patients tested, the house dust mite (Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus) provoked the maximum response (51.81%) the house dust was second (42.81%), and shrimp was third (23.92%). The moderate allergenic extracts were cat fur (12.79%), dog fur (10.72%), cockroach (8.47%) egg white (7.56%) and orris powder (6.30%). Among the low allergenic extracts were Aspergillus fumigatus (5.38%), Staphyloccus aureaus (3.53%) and chicken feathers (3.18%). The authors are of the opinion that the skin sensitivity test is an important diagnostic tool in allergic rhinitis and since this is a preliminary study any short listing of allergens to be used is not recommended yet. Skin sensitivity tests is a useful tool for differentiating allergic rhinitis from vasomotor rhinitis. Estimation of allergen specific IgE concentration in the serum will not offer any major advantages over the intradermal skin test in determining the clinical significance of house dust mite allergy. 21 The development of local materials for skin testing may enhance the usefulness of these investigations.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.