The nonstinging house ant, Monomorium pharaonis (pharaoh ant), was recently identified as a cause of respiratory allergy. This study was performed to evaluate the extent of sensitization to pharaoh ant, and its clinical significance in asthmatic patients. We carried out skin prick tests in 318 patients with asthma. Specific IgE (sIgE) to pharaoh ant was measured by ELISA, and cross-reactivity w...

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) has a high prevalence in elite athletes, particularly endurance athletes, winter athletes and swimmers. Recent studies have shown that a clinical diagnosis of EIB has only a moderate sensitivity and specificity for EIB. This finding in conjunction with a recent ruling by the IOC-medical commission that all athletes competing in initially the 2003 Winte...

BACKGROUND The study tests the hypothesis of a reduction of priming due to tree allergy in patients sensitised to both birch/hazel and grass pollen undergoing an associated preseasonal Sublingual/Injective immunotherapy. METHODS 36 out of 49 bisensitized candidates were pair-matched into 18 case-referent couples. During two years all patients were administered preseasonal grass-SIT and one pa...

BACKGROUND In epidemiological studies of asthma, questionnaires to differentiate asthmatics from non-asthmatics have proven to be cost-effective and convenient. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between hyperresponsiveness to methacholine and the validity of five items for the asthma like questionnaire recommended by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA). METHODS A total ...

OBJECTIVE Persulfate salts are among the most frequently implicated causes of occupational asthma. The aim of this study was to describe the course of bronchial hyperresponsiveness and immunologic test results in patients with occupational asthma due to persulfate salts. PATIENTS AND METHODS Ten patients with occupational asthma due to persulfate salts were studied. Diagnosis was based on spe...

BACKGROUND Persulfate salts have been identified as a cause of occupational asthma (OA). The aim of the present study was to describe the clinical characteristics, diagnostic testing results, and follow-up of eight patients with OA that was triggered by these chemical compounds. METHODS Eight patients with OA due to exposure to persulfate salts were studied. Immunologic, lung function, and sp...

Specific nasal provocation testing (NPT) consists of eliciting a response from the nasal mucosa by controlled exposure to allergens. It is indicated in the diagnostic confirmation of allergic rhinitis and when discrepancies arise or difficulties exist in the assessment of a patient's medical history and the results of skin and/or serological tests. The technique is also applied to evaluate sens...

BACKGROUND Algae powders have been increasingly used in therapeutic preparations. Their potential as inducers of occupational asthma (OA), however, remains to be demonstrated. METHODS A 33-year-old woman developed asthma following exposure to algae powder used for thalassotherapy. She had positive patch tests to nickel and cobalt in an evaluation for intermittent skin rash. At work, she had a...

Assessment of airway responsiveness by bronchoprovocation and bronchodilatation tests is important in the diagnostic work-up protocol of bronchial asthma and it would be convenient to undertake both tests on the same occasion. However, it is not known whether this can be done accurately. Therefore, this study evaluated the effect of a prior bronchial provocation test on the bronchodilator respo...

BACKGROUND Assessing bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) is a main diagnostic criterion of asthma. Provocation testing is not readily available in general practice, but peak expiratory flow (PEF) is. Several guidelines promote the use of PEF variability as a diagnostic tool for BHR. This study tested the agreement between histamine challenge testing and PEF variability, and the consequences fo...