Discrepancies between the responses to skin prick test to food and respiratory antigens in two subtypes of patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

AIM

To compare the response to skin prick tests (SPTs) to food antigens (FAs) and inhalant allergens (IAs) in patients with two subtypes of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and healthy controls.

METHODS

We compared the results of SPTs for IAs and FAs in 87 volunteers divided into three groups: diarrhea predominant IBS (D-IBS) Group I (n = 19), constipation predominant IBS (C-IBS) Group II (n = 17), and normal controls Group III (n = 51).

RESULTS

Of the 285 tests (171 for FAs and 114 for IAs) performed in Group I we obtained 45 (26.3%) positive responses for FA and 23 (20.1%) for IA. Of the 153 tests for FA in Group II, we obtained 66 (20.1%) positive responses, and of the 102 tests for IA, we obtained 20 (19.6%) positive responses. Of the 459 tests for FA performed in Group III, we obtained 39 (84%) positive responses, and of the 306 for IA, we obtained 52 (16.9%) positive responses. The numbers of positive responses were not significantly different between the three groups, but in the D-IBS group, the number of SPT FA responses differed significantly from those for the other two groups (P > 0.01).

CONCLUSION

Despite the small number of cases studied, the higher reactivity to FAs in Group I compared to Groups II and III adds new information, and suggests the presence of a possible alteration in intestinal epithelial function.