OBJECTIVES: We aim to determine relevant seafood sensitization among adults with AD and investigate cross-sensitization to aeroallergens.
METHODS: One hundred thirty-two adults with AD who were subjected to skin prick test (SPT) with 7 common local seafood allergens (anchovy, tuna, mackerel, squid, giant freshwater prawn, shrimp, and crab), house dust mites (HDMs), and cockroach were analyzed retrospectively.
RESULTS: The median age of the study subjects was 32 years (range 17-77 years) with a male to female ratio of 1:3. The mean duration of AD was 16 years. Eighty-two patients (62.2%) had other atopic conditions. Using SCORAD, 44.7% had mild, 42.4% moderate, and 12.9% severe disease. Eighty-six patients (65.2%) self-reported to have seafood allergy, with the main symptoms of transient pruritus and erythema within 2 h of ingestion. SPT revealed 51.5% of the patients were sensitized to at least 1 of the 7 seafood allergens. The relevant sensitization rate was 45.1%. Interestingly, 46% of those without a history of seafood allergy developed at least 1 positive reaction in the SPT. Prawn, shrimp, and crab were the 3 most frequently sensitized allergens. Nearly all patients (98.3%) who were sensitized to crustaceans were also sensitized to HDMs and/or cockroach. There was no significant correlation between a positive SPT to seafood with age, age of onset of AD, duration, and severity of AD, and the presence of other atopic diatheses.
CONCLUSION: The relevant sensitization rate of local seafood among adults with AD was 45.1%.
OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to measure the agreement between BAT and immunoassay in diagnosis of penicillin allergy.
METHOD: BAT was performed using penicillin G (Pen G), penicillin V (Pen V), penicilloyl-polylysine (PPL), minor determinant mix (MDM), amoxicillin (Amx) and ampicillin (Amp) in 25 patients. Immunoassay of total IgE (tIgE) and specific IgE (sIgE) antibodies to Pen G, Pen V, Amx and Amp were quantified. Skin prick test (SPT) using PPL-MDM, Amx, Amp and Clavulanic acid were also performed.
RESULTS: Minimal agreement was observed between BAT and immunoassay (k=0.25). Of two BAT-positive patients, one patient is positive to Amx (59.27%, SI=59) and Amp (82.32%, SI=82) but sIgE-negative to all drug tested. This patient is also SPT-positive to both drugs. Another patient is BAT-positive to Pen G (10.18%, SI=40), Pen V (25.07%, SI=100) and Amp (19.52%, SI=79). In sIgE immunoassay, four patients were sIgE-positive to at least one of the drugs tested. The sIgE level of three patients was between low and moderate and they were BAT-negative. One BAT-positive patient had a high level of sIgE antibodies (3.50-17.5kU/L) along with relatively high specific to total IgE ratio ≥0.002 (0.004-0.007).
CONCLUSIONS: The agreement between BAT and immunoassay is minimal. Performing both tests provides little increase in the sensitivity of allergy diagnosis work-up for immediate reactions to penicillin.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency and geographic variability that exists in a sensitization pattern to common and specific allergens, including house dust mite and fungi, and to correlate such patterns to airway immune-inflammatory status and clinical outcomes in bronchiectasis.
METHODS: Patients with bronchiectasis were recruited in Asia (Singapore and Malaysia) and the United Kingdom (Scotland) (n = 238), forming the Cohort of Asian and Matched European Bronchiectasis, which matched recruited patients on age, sex, and bronchiectasis severity. Specific IgE response against a range of common allergens was determined, combined with airway immune-inflammatory status and correlated to clinical outcomes. Clinically relevant patient clusters, based on sensitization pattern and airway immune profiles ("immunoallertypes"), were determined.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A high frequency of sensitization to multiple allergens was detected in bronchiectasis, exceeding that in a comparator cohort with allergic rhinitis (n = 149). Sensitization was associated with poor clinical outcomes, including decreased pulmonary function and more severe disease. "Sensitized bronchiectasis" was classified into two immunoallertypes: one fungal driven and proinflammatory, the other house dust mite driven and chemokine dominant, with the former demonstrating poorer clinical outcome.
CONCLUSIONS: Allergic sensitization occurs at high frequency in patients with bronchiectasis recruited from different global centers. Improving endophenotyping of sensitized bronchiectasis, a clinically significant state, and a "treatable trait" permits therapeutic intervention in appropriate patients, and may allow improved stratification in future bronchiectasis research and clinical trials.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic characteristics of inferior turbinate tissue biopsy sIgE in asymptomatic and rhinitic patients.
METHODS: A diagnostic cross-sectional study was undertaken, involving patients who underwent inferior turbinate surgery with or without other surgical interventions. Inferior turbinate tissue biopsy was performed during surgery and was assessed for allergen sIgE (dust mite, grass [temperate or subtropical], and animal epithelium) using an automated immunoassay. Tissue sIgE was assessed among asymptomatic patients and those with nasal symptoms. Data were presented as median (interquartile range). A receiver operating curve was used to predict the diagnostic utility of turbinate tissue sIgE in determining allergic rhinitis.
RESULTS: A total of 160 patients (41.89 ± 14.65 years, 36.9% females) were included. The median tissue sIgE concentration among the asymptomatic nonatopic group of patients was 0.09 (0.08-0.10) kUA/L and tissue sIgE > 0.10 kUA/L was determined as a positive threshold. Inferior turbinate tissue sIgE was shown to be a predictive test for allergic rhinitis (area under curve: 0.87, 95% confidence interval: 0.84-0.90) with 90% sensitivity and 89% negative predictive value.
CONCLUSION: Inferior turbinate tissue biopsy sIgE is a sensitive tool to predict allergic rhinitis. The threshold value of 0.1 kUA/L corresponded well with the asymptomatic nonatopic group of patients. This method detects sIgE in the nasal mucosa and may be a useful test for allergic rhinitis in future research.
METHODS: We searched nine international biomedical databases for published, in-progress, and unpublished evidence. Studies were independently screened by two reviewers against predefined eligibility criteria and critically appraised using established instruments. Our primary outcomes of interest were symptom, medication, and combined symptom and medication scores. Secondary outcomes of interest included cost-effectiveness and safety. Data were descriptively summarized and then quantitatively synthesized using random-effects meta-analyses.
RESULTS: We identified 5960 studies of which 160 studies satisfied our eligibility criteria. There was a substantial body of evidence demonstrating significant reductions in standardized mean differences (SMD) of symptom (SMD -0.53, 95% CI -0.63, -0.42), medication (SMD -0.37, 95% CI -0.49, -0.26), and combined symptom and medication (SMD -0.49, 95% CI -0.69, -0.30) scores while on treatment that were robust to prespecified sensitivity analyses. There was in comparison a more modest body of evidence on effectiveness post-discontinuation of AIT, suggesting a benefit in relation to symptom scores.
CONCLUSIONS: AIT is effective in improving symptom, medication, and combined symptom and medication scores in patients with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis while on treatment, and there is some evidence suggesting that these benefits are maintained in relation to symptom scores after discontinuation of therapy.
METHODS: EMBASE (1947-) and Medline (1946-) were searched until December 8, 2015. A search strategy was used to identify studies on AR or NAR patients subjected to diagnostic local nasal provocation. All studies providing original NAPT data among the AR or NAR population were included. Meta-analysis of proportion data was presented as a weighted probability % (95% confidence interval [CI]).
RESULTS: The search yielded 4504 studies and 46 were included. The probability of nasal allergen reactivity for the AR population was 86.3% (95% CI, 84.4 to 88.1) and in NAR was 24.7% (95% CI, 22.3 to 27.2). Reactivity was high with pollen for both AR 97.1% (95% CI, 94.2 to 99.2) and NAR 47.5% (95% CI, 34.8 to 60.4), and lowest with dust for both AR 79.1% (95% CI, 76.4 to 81.6) and NAR 12.2% (95% CI, 9.9 to 14.7). NAPT yielded high positivity when defined by subjective end-points: AR 91.0% (95% CI, 86.6 to 94.8) and NAR 30.2% (95% CI, 22.9 to 37.9); and lower with objective end-points: AR 80.8% (95% CI, 76.8 to 84.5) and NAR 14.1% (95% CI, 11.2 to 17.2).
CONCLUSION: Local allergen reactivity is demonstrated in 26.5% of patients previously considered non-allergic. Similarly, AR, when defined by skin-prick test (SPT) or serum specific IgE (sIgE), may lead to 13.7% of patients with inaccurate allergen sensitization or non-allergic etiologies.
METHODS: A cross-sectional diagnostic study was performed on patients who had undergone nasal endoscopy and allergy testing. Allergy status was determined by positive serology or epicutaneous testing. Endoscopy was reviewed by blinded assessors for middle turbinate head edema. Appearance was graded as either normal, focal, multifocal, diffuse, or polypoid edema. Receiver-operator (ROC) analysis, likelihood ratio (LR), sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) were determined.
RESULTS: One hundred eighty-seven patients representing 304 nasal cavities were assessed (42% female, age 39.74 ± 14.7 years, 57% allergic). Diffuse edema (PPV 91.7%/LR = 8) and polypoid edema (PPV 88.9%/LR = 6.2) demonstrated the strongest association with inhalant allergy. Multifocal edema was used as a cut-off to represent inhalant allergy from ROC analysis, which demonstrated 94.7% specificity and 23.4% sensitivity. The PPV for multifocal was 85.1% and LR = 4.4.
CONCLUSION: Middle turbinate edema is a useful nasal endoscopic feature to predict presence of inhalant allergy and, although not sensitive, has excellent PPV.