Children with acute asthma: IgE antibody reactivities to fungi, house dustmites, cockroaches, and other indoor allergens

Allergens are known to be a significant cause of asthma. The aim of this st udy was to assess immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody reactivity to fungi, basi diomycetes and fungi imperfecti, house dust mites, cockroaches, and other i ndoor allergens, in young asthmatics with acute asthma exacerbation. Forty- nine subjects (2.5 months to 14 years old, mean age 7.3 years) presenting t o the emergency room with symptoms of acute asthma were tested for specific IgE antibodies to basidiomycetes, fungi imperfecti, German and American co ckroach, cat, and house dust mites. Positive radioallergosorbent test (RAST ) reactivity was most frequent (67.3 %) and the greatest (up to 62.6%) to h ouse dust mites. Children older than 5 years exhibited a substantial increa se in mite-specific positive RAST reactivity compared to younger children. Frequency of IgE antibodies increased from 77% of subjects older than 2 yea rs of age to 88% of subjects older than 6 years. The basis of this increase in mite reactivity after age of 5 years remains to be determined. IgE reac tivities to German and American cockroach allergens were second to those to mite both in frequency and magnitude. The frequency of German cockroach-sp ecific IgE reactivity (31.2%) was higher than those to American cockroach ( 19.6%), underlying the role of German cockroaches as the major source of in door insect aeroallergens. In this study, 36.7% of the subjects reacted to basidiomycetes and 28.3% reacted to fungi imperfecti; Psilocybe cubensis yi elded the greatest number of positive reactions among all the basidiomycete s tested. In general, of the fungi tested, reactivities to basidiomycetes s howed a slightly higher frequency whereas fungi imperfecti exhibited higher magnitude of IgE reactivity. The similar degree of sensitization to basidi omycetes and fungi imperfecti underlined the position of basidiomycetes as important aeroallergens comparable to those of well-established fungi imper fecti allergens such as Alternaria, Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Cladospor ium.