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Background: Allergic rhinitis is commonly found in Thailand and its prevalence seems to be higher in each area with the commonly found allergens and different characteristics of the population. Objective: To study the prevalence of each type of allergen from a skin prick test carried out among patients with allergic rhinitis in HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Medical Center (MSMC), Nakhon Nayok Province, Thailand. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a descriptive cross-sectional study design. Retrospective data were collected from the medical records of all patients with allergic rhinitis who took a skin prick test at the Department of Otolaryngology, MSMC between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2021. The results of the prevalence of allergens were reported in terms of numbers and percentages. Skin prick tests giving positive results among patients with allergic rhinitis were compared to the test results of patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma. Results: In total, 304 subjects diagnosed with allergic rhinitis who took a skin prick test met the criteria for inclusion in the present study, 207 were female (68.09%). Their mean age was 39.65±12.32 years old. The study found that 198 (65.13%) patients had positive results from of the test. The standardized mite mix was the most common allergen (55.92%), followed by American cockroach (37.82%), Johnson grass (5.59%), mixed Aspergillus (3.95%), and dog epithelium (1.32%). The patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma had a higher incidence of positive results than the patients with allergic rhinitis alone (risk difference was 13.36%, 95% CI 5.06 to 21.66, p-value = 0.005). Conclusion: The present study revealed that the prevalence of a positive skin prick test response was 65.13% of patients diagnosed with allergic rhinitis. The standardized mite mix was the most frequently found allergen, followed by American cockroach, Johnson grass, mixed Aspergillus, and dog epithelium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the prevalence and compare the results of positive autologous serum skin test (ASST) and autologous plasma skin test (APST) in Thai chronic urticaria patients. Material and Method: A retrospective review of all chronic urticaria patients attending the Urticaria Clinic who underwent ASST and APST between January 2010 and March 2014 was conducted. The data on their demography, disease severity, and results of ASST, APST, and other relevant tests were collected and analyzed using a statistical software. Results: Seventy-nine patients, comprising 14 (17.7%) males and 65 (82.3%) females, were included in the present study. Their median (range) age was 37 years (18 to 73 years). The median (range) duration of the disease was two years (2 months to 30 years). ASST was positive in 48 patients (60.8%) whereas APST was positive in 50 patients (63.3%). The difference in prevalence between both tests was not statistically significant (p = 0.593). A statistically significant association with higher number of wheals during each attack of urticarial symptoms was found in ASST-positive group (p<0.001), but not in APST-positive group (p = 0.064). Conclusion: ASST and APST can similarly detect autoreactivity in Thai chronic urticaria patients. Thus APST, the less established test between the two, is unnecessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both benzylpenicilloyl-polylysine (PPL) and minor determinant mixture (MDM) are the recommended standard reagents for penicillin skin testing. However, penicillin G is commonly suggested as an alternative source of minor determinants. This study evaluated the accuracy of penicillin G and alkali-treated penicillin G compared with the standardized MDM for skin testing. Sixty-eight patients with histories of allergies to penicillin or semisynthetic penicillins were skin tested with commercial Kit penicillin allergenic determinants (DAP) (PPL and DAP-MDM; Diater Laboratorios, Madrid, Spain). The in-house MDM (IH-MDM), prepared by alkali-treated aged penicillin, and fresh penicillin G sodium (PGs) were tested alongside DAP-MDM. Positive penicillin skin test results were identified in 22 patients (32.4%) using commercial reagents (PPL+ DAP-MDM) and 19 of them reacted to DAP-MDM alone or together with PPL. The accuracy of IH-MDM and PGs compared with DAP-MDM was 89.7 and 76.5%, respectively. Our study shows that alkali-treated penicillin G is a better option than penicillin G as an alternative source of MDM for skin testing in case the commercialized MDM is not available. Minor determinants play a significant role for penicillin allergy in Thailand and should be included in the penicillin skin test panel to verify suspected cases of penicillin allergy. (ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT00789217) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction and Objectives: Wheat and cereal grains have a broad range of cross-reactivity, but the clinical relevance of this cross-reactivity is uncertain. This study aimed to evaluate clinical and in vitro cross-reactivity with barley, oat, and Job's tears among wheat-allergic patients., Materials and Methods: Patients aged 5 to 15 years with IgE-mediated wheat allergy were enrolled. Skin prick test (SPT) and specific IgE (sIgE) to wheat, barley, and oat, and SPT to Job's tears were performed. Oral food challenge (OFC) was conducted if the SPT was ≤5 mm in size and there was no history of anaphylaxis to each grain. Profiles of sIgE bound allergens of wheat, barley, and oat, and inhibition ELISA of IgE binding to barley and oat with wheat were performed., Results: Ten patients with a median age of 8 years were enrolled. Nine of those patients had a history of wheat anaphylaxis. The median SPT size and sIgE level to wheat was 7.3 mm and 146.5 kU A /l, respectively. The cross-reactivity rate for barley, oat, and Job's tears was 60.0%, 33.3%, and 20.0%, respectively. Significantly larger SPT size and higher sIgE level were observed in patients with positive cross-reactivity to barley and oat when compared to patients without cross-reactivity. Barley and oat extracts inhibited 59% and 16% of sIgE bound to wheat gliadins and glutenins, respectively., Conclusion: The cross-reactivity rate was quite low for oat and Job's tears compared to that of barley; therefore, avoidance of all cereal grains may be unnecessary in patients with severe wheat allergy., (Copyright © 2020 SEICAP. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Background: A finding of antibodies to Gnathostoma spinigerum 24-kDa antigen by immunoblot analysis is currently used to confirm a diagnosis of gnathostomiasis. A simple skin test for the diagnosis of gnathostomiasis was developed, and the results were evaluated and compared with the standard Western blot (WB) test., Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Bangkok, Thailand, in 2008-2011. All eligible patients were tested with partially purified proteins of mAb-detected fractions pooled and sterilized by 0.2 μm diameter syringe filter, with a phenol saline solution of 1:10 w/v., Results: A total of 69 cases, 39 gnathostomiasis cases and 30 controls, were enrolled into the study; the median age (IQR) was 40 (30.5-52.5) years. The most common presenting symptom was edema (56/69, 81%). Gnathostomiasis cases having strong cutaneous reactions to the intradermal test (81%) were also positive by immunoblot. A significant correlation between skin and immunoblot tests was detected (p<0.001). The difference in total IgE levels between cases and controls was not statistically significant (p=0.51). Logistic regression models showed that positive WB and skin-test results were significantly associated with gnathostomiasis (p=0.001 and p=0.007, respectively)., Conclusion: Gnathostoma skin testing, using prepared fractionated antigen solution of Gnathostoma spinigerum, yields good reactivity and significantly correlates with the results of immunoblot testing.