[Aeroallergens, skin tests and allergic diseases in 1091 patients]. / Aeroalergenos, pruebas cutáneas y enfermedad alérgica en 1091 pacientes.

To know the frequency of positively of several skin tests, data cards from patients, of the Allergy and Clinic Immunology Service of the Hospital de Especialidades del Centro Medico Nacional Siglo XXI (Mexico City), between January, 1989 and March, 1995, were reviewed. Aqueous extracts manufactures by our laboratory were applied, in a dilution of 1:1000 weight-volume. 1091 from 5,651 skin tests patients were positive. Asthma and rhinitis were diagnosed in 492, allergic rhinitis in 289, allergic asthma in 111, and other diagnosis in 199 cases. The most frequent inhalable aeroallergens were house dust and perennial Dermatophagoides p and f1 with predominance in the rainy season, followed by pollens from Fraxinus a. Quercus a and Capriola, with predominance in the rainy season. The most frequent fungi were Candida and Fusarium, with predominance in the dry season.

[Exposure to pollutants and allergens in the asthmatic child compared with the healthy child]. / Exposición a contaminantes y alergenos en el niño asmático en comparación con el niño sano.

To assess the frequency of exposure to allergens and indoor pollutants of school age asthmatic children at the time of their first visit to the specialist, we studied 14 cases with the diagnosis of asthma according to international criteria, and 21 healthy controls. The parents of the children filed a questionnaire asking about socio-economic level, family history of asthma, exposure to allergens or indoor pollutants, and clinical severity of the disease. Questionnaires with less than 80% of the responses were excluded from analysis. Asthmatic patients had higher frequency of exposure to tobacco smoke (42.8% vs 38%), moisture in the home walls (42.9% vs 19%), and to dust reservoirs (71.4% vs 52.4%). A high proportion of the asthmatic patients did not apply adequate environmental control measures. Education for the patients and their primary care physicians must be increased, to reduce the morbidity of the diseases.