Skin prick test results to food allergens in patients with allergic rhinitis

Abstract

Aim: The role of food allergy in etiology of allergic rhinitis (AR) has not been well established. Allergic rhinitis may be a component of other atopic disorders. So it is difficult to assess the true prevalence of food induced allergic rhinitis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the skin prick test (SPT) results for some food allergens in allergic rhinitis patients. Material and Methods: A total of 31 items SPT results of 110 patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis including food allergens and inhalant allergens were evaluated retrospectively. Chi-square test was used for statistical analysis. P value < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: Out of all patients 76.4% had positive reaction to at least one allergen while 23.6% had negative SPT to all allergens. Sixty point nine % of patients had positive result for at least one food allergen and 67.5% for at least one inhalant allergen. Nine point one % of patients had positive test results for only food allergens. The most common positively detected food allergens were flours (rye, barley, oat flour) and peanut. Positive test results for cow’s milk was higher in patients under 18 years of age. Also positive test results to egg and cow’s milk were statistically significantly higher in patients with atopic status than non - atopic. Conclusion: According to our study findings, allergic rhinitis patients may have uncertain sensitivity to cereal flours. It seems that; independently from allergic rhinitis, atopic status is the main condition in patients with cow’s milk and egg allergies.