METHODS: A PubMed search for relevant published articles was conducted using the following search terms singly or in combination: "atopy," "atopic disease," "atopic disorder," "International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood," "ISAAC," "asthma," "allergic rhinitis," "eczema," and "food allergy" in combination with the names of countries of the Arabian Peninsula (Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Yemen). The search captured studies published up to December 2017.
RESULTS: A total of 8 publications reporting prevalence rates of any type of atopic disease in children in 7 countries of the Arabian Peninsula were retrieved. The prevalence of all atopic disorders was comparable between countries of the Arabian Peninsula. The overall prevalence of asthma ranged from 8 to 23%, while the reported prevalence of eczema ranged from 7.5 to 22.5%. There was great variation in the prevalence rates of rhinoconjunctivitis, which ranged from 6.3 to 30.5%. The prevalence of food allergy (8.1%) was reported for 1 country only, the United Arab Emirates.
CONCLUSIONS: The reported overall rates of atopic disease in countries of the Arabian Peninsula are comparable to those reported in other industrialized countries. This is probably related to the good economic status in the region, which is reflected in the living standards and lifestyle. Further, genetic factors, such as factors related to gene polymorphism, and the high rate of consanguinity in the region may contribute to the higher prevalence of atopic diseases.
METHODS: This was an observational, retrospective cross-sectional study of computed tomography (CT) scan of paranasal sinus that had been performed on patients in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia and Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah done from January 2009 until December 2016. The presence of frontal recess cells variation was compared with other populations.
RESULTS: A total of 312 sides from 156 patients' CT scan images were analyzed. Left and right sinuses were considered individually. A total of 63 sides showed evidence of frontal sinusitis, 37 were male and 26 were female, whereas 249 sides were clear from frontal sinus disease. It was not much difference in mean age for frontal sinusitis patient (46.51±14.00) and patients without frontal sinusitis (48.73±16.44). The percentage was almost equal for CRS and non-CRS groups regardless of side and gender. In our study, the frontal recess cell such as agger nasi cell was found in almost all patients 98.1%, frontal ethmoidal cell type 1, type 2, type 3 and type 4 comprised of 28.8%, 31.1%, 14.4% and 0% respectively. Whereas, suprabullar cell can be seen in 40.3%, supraorbital ethmoid cells 16.7%, frontal bullar cell 33.0% and inter-frontal sinus septal cells 10.8%. There was a statistically significant association between the presence of frontal bullar cell and the development of frontal sinusitis (p value<0.001).
CONCLUSION: The frontal recess cells variation in Malaysian subjects were almost similar to those reported in other Asian populations such as Japanese, Taiwanese, Chinese and Korean. Our study found that frontal bullar cells had a significant association with the development of frontal sinusitis than other frontal recess cells. The understanding of the frontal recess anatomical structures was very important as this would lead to a successful treatment of CRS and at the same time it helped the surgeon to have a better plan of endoscopic sinus surgery to prevent the disease recurrence and surgical complication.
METHODS: Records of patients treated from 2009 to 2016 were analysed retrospectively. Data from the records were indexed based on age, gender, clinical presentations, symptom duration, clinical signs and mycological growth.
RESULTS: Of 80 samples, 27 (33.75 per cent) had fungal growth. Sixteen patients were classified as having non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis and 11 as having invasive fungal rhinosinusitis. The commonest clinical presentation was nasal polyposis in non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis patients (p < 0.05) and ocular symptoms in invasive fungal rhinosinusitis patients (p < 0.05). The commonest organism was aspergillus sp. (p < 0.05) in non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis and mucorales in invasive fungal rhinosinusitis.
CONCLUSION: There is an almost equal distribution of both invasive and non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, as seen in some Asian countries. Invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, while slightly uncommon when compared to non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, is potentially life threatening, and may require early and extensive surgical debridement. The clinical presentation of nasal polyposis was often associated with non-invasive fungal rhinosinusitis, whereas ocular symptoms were more likely to be associated with invasive fungal rhinosinusitis.
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.
DESIGN: A scoping review.
DATA SOURCES: PubMed, Scopus, Direct Open Access Journal, Medline, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ScienceDirect and SpringerLink were searched from October 2017 until May 2018.
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: We selected all types of studies including case-control studies, prospective or retrospective cohort studies, cross-sectional studies and experimental studies, and we included reviews such as literature reviews, systematic reviews with or without meta-analysis and scoping reviews that were published in English and associated the ABO blood group with the three allergic diseases (asthma, AR and AD) in humans of all age groups.
DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two reviewers independently screened the titles and abstracts and assessed the full-text articles of the abstracts that met the eligibility requirements. Data from the included studies were extracted, evaluated and reported in the form of narrative synthesis.
RESULTS: Of the 10 246 retrieved titles, only 14 articles were selected for a scoping review based on the eligibility criteria. The majority of the studies demonstrated a significant association between ABO blood groups and allergic diseases. We found that blood group O is prominent in patients with AR and asthma, while a non-O blood group is common in patients with AD.
CONCLUSION: This scoping review serves as preliminary evidence for the association of ABO blood groups with allergic diseases. Further studies need to be conducted so that the relationship between ABO blood groups and allergic diseases can be fully established. This could be helpful for clinicians and health professionals in consulting and managing patients who suffer from allergic diseases in the future.
Methods: Participants (GP-allergic with AR, 330; non-atopic, 29; other allergies, 54) were recruited in subtropical: Queensland, and temperate: New South Wales, Western and South Australia, regions. Clinical history, skin prick test (SPT), total and specific IgE to GP and purified allergens (ImmunoCAP) were evaluated. Cross-inhibition of sIgE with Pas n 1, Cyn d 1 and Lol p 1 by GP extracts was investigated.
Results: Queensland participants showed higher sensitisation to P. notatum and C. dactylon than L. perenne GP. sIgE was higher to Pas n 1 and Cyn d 1, and sIgE to Pas n 1 and Cyn d 1 was inhibited more by Panicoideae and Chloridoideae, respectively, than Pooideae GP. Conversely, participants from temperate regions showed highest sensitisation levels to L. perenne GP and Lol p 1, and sIgE to Lol p 1 was inhibited more by Pooideae than other GP.
Conclusion: Levels and patterns of sensitisation to subtropical and temperate GP in AR patients depended on biogeography. Knowledge of the specificity of sensitisation to local allergens is important for optimal diagnosis and choice of allergen-specific immunotherapy to maximise benefit.