Profils clinique et allergénique des pollinoses en Tunisie

Abstract

BackgroundPollinosis is a public health problem due to its prevalence, morbidity, impact on quality of life and cost. The objective of our study was to describe the clinical and allergenic profiles of pollen allergy in Tunisia. Patients and methodsWe conducted a descriptive retrospective study including all patients investigated for pollen allergy at the allergology department of the La Marsa internal security forces hospital in Tunis between 1993 and 2015. ResultsPollen sensitization involved 45.8% of the patients tested with a total of 2490 patients. Rhinitis was the most common manifestation (87.1%), followed by asthma (59.9%) and conjunctivitis (50.4%). Asthma was more common in children, while rhinitis and conjunctivitis were more common in adults. Clinical manifestations were most often associated (75.4%). An association between asthma and rhino conjunctivitis (24.5%) was the most frequent, followed by an association between asthma and rhinitis (24%). The allergenic profile showed predominance of sensitization to grass pollen (54.4%), followed by sensitization to tree pollen (48.8%) and grass pollen (48.1%). Parietaria was the most sensitizing grass pollen, with olive pollen being the most sensitizing tree pollen (35.5%). Polysensitization to pollen was found in 55.5% of patients. ConclusionPollinosis is extremely common among allergic subjects in Tunisia. Rhinitis is the most common clinical manifestation. Weed pollens are the most sensitizing with a high frequency of pollen polysensitization.