Alp H, Yu B H, Grant E N, Rao V, Moy J N
Department of Pediatrics, Cook County Children's Hospital, Chicago, Illinois 60612, USA.
Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2001 Jan;86(1):51-4. doi: 10.1016/S1081-1206(10)62355-1.
Cockroach allergy and exposure to high levels of this allergen are important in the increasing asthma-related health problems among young inner-city children. However, there are very little data regarding the prevalence of cockroach allergy in infants and young children with asthma.
This retrospective study was designed to test the hypothesis that cockroach allergy appears early in life in young children with recurrent wheezing.
We reviewed the medical records of all 196 children (ages 5 months to 16 years) evaluated between January 1995 and September 1997 at the Cook County Hospital Pediatric Allergy Clinic for recurrent wheezing. The patients were assigned into two age groups, less than 4 years old and 4 to 16 years old. The percentages of IgE skin tests positive for common aeroallergens were compared within and between the two age groups. All children in the younger age group were tested for cockroach and dust mites, cat, and dog when indicated by positive environmental history. All children in the older age group were tested for indoor and outdoor allergens.
Sixty-three children were younger than 4 years of age, and of these, 15 (23.8%) had cockroach allergen sensitivity, compared with only eight patients (12.7%) who were skin test positive to dust mite allergen (P = .01). The youngest patient with a positive reaction to cockroach allergen was 6 months old. Patients with a single allergen skin reactivity were considered as monosensitized. Nine children younger than 4 years of age (14.3%) were monosensitized only to cockroach allergen in contrast to three children (4.8%) who were monosensitized to house-dust mites (P < .05).
Our data suggest that cockroach allergen sensitivity starts early in life and may be the only sensitizing allergen in many young inner-city children.
蟑螂过敏以及接触高浓度这种过敏原，在城市中心区年幼儿童中日益增多的与哮喘相关的健康问题上起着重要作用。然而，关于哮喘婴幼儿和儿童中蟑螂过敏患病率的数据非常少。
这项回顾性研究旨在检验以下假设：蟑螂过敏在反复喘息的幼儿生命早期就已出现。
我们回顾了1995年1月至1997年9月间在库克县医院儿科过敏诊所因反复喘息接受评估的所有196名儿童（年龄5个月至16岁）的病历。将患者分为两个年龄组，小于4岁组和4至16岁组。比较了两个年龄组内及两组之间对常见气传过敏原IgE皮肤试验呈阳性的百分比。年龄较小的年龄组中所有儿童，若环境史呈阳性则检测蟑螂、尘螨、猫和狗过敏原。年龄较大的年龄组中所有儿童检测室内和室外过敏原。
63名儿童年龄小于4岁，其中15名（23.8%）对蟑螂过敏原敏感，相比之下，仅8名患者（12.7%）对尘螨过敏原皮肤试验呈阳性（P = 0.01）。对蟑螂过敏原反应呈阳性的最年幼患者为6个月大。单一过敏原皮肤反应性的患者被视为单敏化。9名年龄小于4岁的儿童（14.3%）仅对蟑螂过敏原单敏化，相比之下，3名儿童（4.8%）对屋尘螨单敏化（P < 0.05）。
我们的数据表明，蟑螂过敏原敏感性在生命早期就已开始，并且可能是许多城市中心区年幼儿童唯一的致敏过敏原。
