Abstract

FERREIRA, Joana et al. Sensitization to dust and storage mites: the increasing prevalence of Lepidoglyphus destructor. Nascer e Crescer [online]. 2018, vol.27, n.2, pp.82-87. ISSN 0872-0754.

Introduction: Allergic disease is a leading cause of chronic disease in pediatric age. Dust mites are the most important cause of allergy and there have been seen differences both in their geographical distribution and the sensitization profile. Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze patterns of domestic and storage mites sensitization in the pediatric population attending the outpatient clinic of an hospital in the northern region of Portugal. Materials and methods: The study consisted on a retrospective analysis of the clinical records of the patients who were studied by skin prick tests, including commercial extracts of domestic and storage mites in two distinct periods, from January 1^st 2010 to December 31^st 2011 and from March 1^st 2014 to March 31^st 2015. Results: Six hundred and twenty-one children were included. Allergic sensitization was found in 48.3%. Most of them were males (61.3%) and the mean age was 9.7 years.  Rhinitis was the most common allergic disease (67%), followed by asthma (51%). The predominant sensitization was to Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. We found an increase in sensitization rates to storage mites over time, namely to Lepidoglyphus destructor and Glycyphagus domesticus. Conclusion: An increasing sensitization rate to storage mites has been observed, especially to Lepidoglyphus destructor. Knowledge of this sensitization profile is particularly important to establish effective environmental control measures and manage specific immunotherapy.

Keywords : Lepidoglyphus destructor; mites; sensitization.

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