Allergic rhinitis in children and early exposure of cat allergens
E.A. Bass1,2, I.A. Tuzankina1
1Institute of Immunology and Physiology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yekaterinburg
2Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital, Yekaterinburg
Aim: to identify a characteristics association between the course of allergic diseases and first contact age with cat allergens.
Patients and methods: 228 children aged 3–16 years from the cities of the Sverdlovsk region underwent the prospective study. All children were diagnosed with allergic rhinitis. In the gender composition, boys dominated — 66.67% (n=152). The following children groups, based on the personal data about the first contact with cats, were presented: group 1 — prenatal contact; group 2 — contact with cats in the first year of life; group 3 — contact with cats at the age of 1–3 years; group 4 — contact with cats at the age of 4 to 7 years. The level of total immunoglobulin E (IgE), eosinophilic cationic protein, cytological analysis of nasal secretions, bacteriological examination of the smear from the nasal mucosa were determined for all children.
Results: more than 90% of children had first contact with cats for up to 4 years. An isolated course of allergic rhinitis was detected in 53 patients (23.2%). Combined forms of allergic pathology were detected in 76.8% of patients; in particular, the mild degree of the disease course prevailed. More than half of the children (n=68; 60.7%) underwent the follow-up during bronchial asthma (BA) course. In contact with cats, 43.4% of patients reported an allergic pathology exacerbation while allergen-specific IgE antibodies to cat allergens were detected in 100% of the children included in the study. Evaluation of nosological structure and allergic pathology degree in patients from 1–4 groups did not reveal significant differences. There was a tendency to a greater BA prevalence in children who had prenatal contact with cat allergens.
Conclusion: in the present study, a high frequency of allergic pathology combined forms was identified. It was revealed that mild forms of allergic rhinitis and/or rhinoconjunctivitis, bronchial asthma and atopic dermatitis prevailed. There were no significant differences in the allergic pathology course depending on the first contact age with cat allergens.
Keywords: allergens exposure, sensitization, allergic rhinitis, cat allergens.
For citation: Bass E.A., Tuzankina I.A. Allergic rhinitis in children and early exposure of cat allergens. RMJ. Medical Review. 2019;5:12–14.
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