role of some fungi in bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive lung diseases

ABSTRACT

This work was done on 100 patients [50 patients with bronchial asthma and 50 ones with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases [COPD] to study the role of some fungi in those patients by prick skin test, culture and indirect haemagglutination test for aspergillus. Prick skin test using fungal antigens showed 84% and 76% were positive in cases of bronchial asthma and COPD respectively. Skin test showed that the predominant fungi in bronchial asthma and COPD was Aspergillus niger, Asp. flavus and candida. Skin test using fungal antigens showed that skin sensitivity to Asp. niger was significantly higher in bronchial asthma than in COPD. The culture of sputa of 100 patients with bronchial asthma and COPD showed different fungal growth [80% showed positive fungal growth in bronchial asthma while in COPD 70% showed positive fungal growth]. The predominant fungi isolated by culture in cases of bronchial asthma and COPD were candida species followed by Aspergillus species. Indirect haemagglutination test for Aspergillus showed titre of 1/320 in 5 patients with bronchial asthma and in one patient with COPD [i.e.] in 6% of all cases. From this study it was found that simple prick skin test, if properly performed and with properly standardized fungal allergens, remains the best procedure for routine office clinical diagnosis