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Serum antibody to staphylococcal teichoic acid and α‐haemolysin in dermatological patients
Author(s) -
LARINKARI U.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2133.1982.tb00289.x
Subject(s) - teichoic acid , hemolysin , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , antibody , staphylococcus aureus , staphylococcal infections , dermatology , immunology , chemistry , biology , bacteria , biochemistry , genetics , virulence , gene
SUMMARY Teichoic acid antibody (TAA) titres and antibody to α‐haemolysin of Staphylococcus aureus (ASta) were measured in 274 dermatological patients and 200 normal controls. Positive Asta values (≥2.0 iu/ml) were common in patients with chronic pruritic dermatoses such as atopic dermatitis (44% ASta positive) and infective eczema (28% ASta positive), but patients with primary pyoderma were all ASta negative. Positive TAA titres (≥1:4) were seen less frequently than positive ASta values, but still significantly more often in atopic dermatitis patients than in controls. Routine skin swabs were taken from all patients, but positive TAA or ASta tests correlated neither with growth of Staphylococcus aureus from skin lesions nor with signs of clinical infection. This study shows that the TAA test cannot be used as an indicator of septic staphylococcal infection in patients with atopic dermatitis.