[Skin reactivity frequency to aeroallergens in patients with clinical symptoms of allergic disease].

BACKGROUND: Allergic diseases diagnosis must be based on adequate allergological anamnesis and an immunological sensitization test; the most sensitive and specific is the skin prick test.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of skin reactivity to aeroallergens, by age groups, in patients of the Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology of the Hospital Universitario de Puebla, in Mexico.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted that included patients aged 2 to 64 years with symptoms suggestive of allergic disease, in which skin prick tests with aeroallergens were performed; the diagnostic criteria were those of international guidelines. Frequencies, percentages and dispersion measures were calculated.

RESULTS: Of 173 patients, 63 % were females. Mean age was 22.3 years. The frequency of skin reactivity for Quercus sp. was 12.72 %, for Periplaneta americana, 9.83 %, for Dermatophagoides farinae, 9.25 %, for Cynodon dactylon, 8.09 %, for Blatella germanica, 8.09 %, for Holcus halepensis, 6.94 %, for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, 6.36 %, for Schinus molle, 5.78 %, for Fraxinus uhdei, 5.20 %, for Lolium perenne, 5.20 %, for Ambrosia eliator, 5.20 % and for Artemisa tridentata, 4.62 %.

CONCLUSION: Although Dermatophagoides are the most frequently reported aeroallergens, the most common aeroallergen in this study was pollen, probably owing to geographical and environmental factors, although this was not observed in the analysis by age groups.