International archives of allergy and immunology
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Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. · Jan 2012
Vitamin D deficiency as a strong predictor of asthma in children.
Epidemiological studies suggest a link between vitamin D deficiency in early life and development of asthma in later life. ⋯ The present study revealed that the majority of asthmatic children had vitamin D deficiency compared to control children. Vitamin D deficiency was the major predictor of asthma in Qatari children.
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Nonallergic drug hypersensitivities, also referred to as pseudoallergic or anaphylactoid reactions, have clinical manifestations that are often indistinguishable from allergic reactions. ⋯ Diagnostic methods exist to distinguish allergic from nonallergic drug hypersensitivity reactions. The best option in nonallergic drug hypersensitivity is avoidance. If that is not possible, premedication protocols have been developed, although the success of premedication varies amongst drugs and patients.
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Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. · Jan 2012
Diagnosis of immediate hypersensitivity to β-lactam antibiotics can be made safely with current approaches.
Diagnosing immediate hypersensitivity to β-lactam antibiotics is still a significant problem. Recently, a new penicillin testing reagent was introduced to the market. In this study, the recommendations of the European Network of Drug Allergy (ENDA) for the diagnosis of immediate reactions to β-lactams were followed, and the negative predictive value of this approach with currently available reagents was assessed. ⋯ Although currently available new penicillin tests provide sufficient allergy data, all the steps recommended by ENDA should be followed in the diagnosis of immediate reactions to β-lactams. If these steps are negative, the patients usually tolerate β-lactams and only a few develop mild, non-life-threatening reactions in the long term.
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Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. · Jan 2012
Airway hyperresponsiveness is negatively associated with obesity or overweight status in patients with asthma.
Obesity is a risk factor for asthma in the general population, but the effect of obesity on airway hyperresponsiveness (AFHR) or airway inflammation in asthma is not clear. This study evaluated the relationship between obesity and asthma, assessing aspects of symptoms, AHR, and severity. ⋯ Obesity is a risk factor for asthma in the general population, but obesity in asthmatic patients is negatively correlated with the intensity of AHR and is not related to asthma severity. Obesity is positively related with the prevalence of wheezing but negatively related to AHR in asthmatic patients.
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Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol. · Jan 2012
Inflammatory markers and acid-base equilibrium in exhaled breath condensate of stable and unstable asthma patients.
Nitrosative and acid stress play an important role in the pathogenesis of asthma. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether, in asthmatics, a link exists between the concentrations of nitrite/nitrate, ammonia and pH values in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and asthma severity, lung function, exhaled nitric oxide (F(ENO)), total IgE, eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and blood eosinophilia. ⋯ In asthmatic patients there is a relationship between EBC pH, ammonia and nitrite/nitrate concentrations and other recognized markers of airway inflammation. EBC pH values, ammonia and nitrite/nitrate levels measured together may help to assess airway inflammatory status and asthma severity.