peanut sensitization in a group of allergic egyptian children花生致敏在一群埃及儿童过敏.pdfVIP

Hossny et al. Allergy, Asthma Clinical Immunology 2011, 7:11 /content/7/1/11 ALLERGY, ASTHMA CLINICAL IMMUNOLOGY RESEARCH Open Access Peanut sensitization in a group of allergic Egyptian children 1* 1 2 3 Elham Hossny , Ghada Gad , Abeer Shehab and Amgad El-Haddad Abstract Background: There are no published data on peanut sensitization in Egypt and the problem of peanut allergy seems underestimated. We sought to screen for peanut sensitization in a group of atopic Egyptian children in relation to their phenotypic manifestations. Methods: We consecutively enrolled 100 allergic children; 2-10 years old (mean 6.5 yr). The study measurements included clinical evaluation for site of allergy, possible precipitating factors, consumption of peanuts (starting age and last consumption), duration of breast feeding, current treatment, and family history of allergy as well as skin prick testing with a commercial peanut extract, and serum peanut specific and total IgE estimation. Children who were found sensitized to peanuts were subjected to an open oral peanut challenge test taking all necessary precautions. Results: Seven subjects (7%) were sensitized and three out of six of them had positive oral challenge denoting allergy to peanuts. The sensitization rates did not vary significantly with gender, age, family history of allergy, breast feeding duration, clinical form of allergy, serum total IgE, or absolute eosinophil count. All peanut sensitive subjects had skin with or without respiratory allergy. Conclusions: Peanut allergy does not seem to be rare i