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: A protein of 58 kd with an isoelectric point of 8.45 was purified from raw latex and from latex gloves and identified as the major allergen, completely blocking specific IgE antibodies in the serum of latex-sensitized subjects. The allergen is a noncovalent homotetramer molecule, in which the 14.6 kd monomer was identified, by amino acid composition and sequence homologies of tryptic peptides, to be the rubber elongation factor found in natural latex of the Malaysian rubber tree.
RESULTS: Competitive immunoinhibition tests showed that the starch powder covering the finished gloves is the airborne carrier of the allergen, resulting in bronchial asthma on inhalation. The purified allergen can induce allergic reactions in the nanogram range.
CONCLUSION: The identification of the allergen (Hev b I) may help to eliminate it during the production of latex-based articles in the future.
Objective: To identify the prevalence of the common allergic sensitization and allergic diseases among school children and undergraduate students in suburban of Surabaya by epidemiologic data collection.
Methods: A multistage simple random sampling was done to select 5 primary schools, 8 secondary schools (4 of junior high schools and senior high schools, respectively), and 1 university from 5 districts in Surabaya city. Out of 550 invited respondents, 499 (128 primary school, 221 secondary school, and 150 undergraduate) respondents gave their consent. A complete personal history, allergic symptoms, environmental exposure of common allergens was obtained from interview and the physical examinations were performed. Skin prick test (SPT) was done using 45 different allergen extracts. Total serum IgE and specific IgE radioallergosorbent test levels were measured for respondents with allergic manifestations.
Results: There was an increasing SPT positivity among study respondents, from primary school, secondary school, to undergraduate students (21.90%, 28.95%, to 45.30% respectively). Cockroach (42.85%) and fungi/mold spore (42.85%) were the most common allergens in primary school children. House dust mites was the most common allergen in secondary school (63.16%) and undergraduate students (58.82%). Urticaria and rhinitis were the commonest allergic diseases manifestation. History of atopy was positive in 60.79% of the allergic respondents.
Conclusion: The prevalence of allergic sensitization among school children and undergraduate students in Surabaya suburb areas were increased compared to previous estimates in 1998. While house dust mites are known as important allergens, surprisingly cockroach was the common allergen among the younger school children.
METHODS: A case-control study was carried out among patients with CSOM (cases) and controls were those with no ear pathology. The presence of CSOM was made through a medical history and otoscopic examination. Allergen testing was done by the skin prick test.
RESULTS: In all 124 subjects were recruited in this study with equal number of the cases and controls. The commonest positive reaction in the skin prick test in both groups was to house dust mites. Among CSOM cases, half (50%) of them had an allergy to Blomia tropicalis and 48.4% to Dermatophagoides while in the control group, 27.4% to Dermatophagoides and 25.8% to B. tropicalis. There were significant associations between CSOM and allergy to B. tropicalis (p=0.005), Dermatophagoides (p=0.016) and Felis domesticus (p=0.040). The prevalence of allergy at 95% confidence interval (95%CI) in CSOM and control groups were demonstrated as 59.7% (95%CI: 47.5, 71.9) and 30.6 % (95%CI: 19.1, 42.1) respectively. There was a significant association between allergy and CSOM (p=0.001).
CONCLUSION: Indoor allergens are the most prevalent in our environment and therefore good control may difficult to achieve. The hypersensitivity states of the subject are likely to have a role in the pathogenesis of CSOM especially in the tropical countries where allergy occurs perennially.