FACIAL THERMOGRAPHY DURING NASAL PROVOCATION TESTS WITH HISTAMINE ANDALLERGEN

Changes of skin temperature (T(o)) of the nose area during nasal provo cation tests with histamine and allergen were followed by means of an infrared thermography camera. By a colimator system in which temperatu res measured on a given surface can be integrated and averaged, thermo graphy allows the continuous and quantitative recording of the tempera ture during the whole procedure in a completely noninvasive way. In 10 normal subjects, increasing doses of histamine induced a dose-depende nt rise of the nose external temperature. No significant change was ob served with the vehicle solution. In six subjects allergic to grass po llen, the nebulization of increasing concentrations of a pollen extrac t induced a dose-dependent rise in T(o). The T(o) rise observed after histamine or allergen corresponded to a marked nasal obstruction. The nebulization of the highest dose of the pollen extract did not induce any T(o) rise in six nonallergic subjects. The continuous recording of the skin temperature by a noninvasive method might yield additional i nformation on the vascular changes rapidly occurring during nasal chal lenges.