Skin Prick Test Reactivity to Common Aeroallergens among Allergic Rhinitis Patients.

Objective: To identify the common aeroallergens causing allergy symptoms among the allergic rhinitis patients.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place And Duration Of Study: Department of Immunology, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), Rawalpindi, from January to July 2016.

Methodology: Patients with a clinical diagnosis of allergic rhinitis were enrolled. Skin Prick Test (SPT) was performed on these patients using 12 common aeroallergens along with positive (histamine hydrochloride, 10 mg/ml) and negative (glycerin saline) controls. Results were recorded after 15 minutes, considering a wheal diameter >3 mm as positive. Chi-square test was used to compare frequencies; and p-value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Out of 130 patients, 78 (60%) were males and 52 (40%) were females. The rate of sensitization to any allergen was 90%. One hundred and two (78%) were poly-sensitized to more than two allergens and 20% were sensitized to more than six allergens. Most common outdoor and indoor allergens were Broussonetia papyrifera (50.7%) and Dermatophagoides farina (42.3%), respectively. Dog epithelia and aspergillus were the least prevalent allergens (13.8% each).

Conclusion: This study highlighted an increased overall frequency of sensitization to any allergen and significance of tree and weed allergens; especially, Broussonetia papyrifera and Cannabis sativa. It also emphasized increased prevalence of skin reactivity to indoor allergen, Dermatophagoides farina in the city.