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A FOLLOW‐UP STUDY OF CHILDREN WITH ASTHMATOID BRONCHITIS: II. Serum IgE and Eosinophil Counts in Relation to Clinical Course
Author(s) -
FOUCARD TONY
Publication year - 1974
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1974.tb04361.x
Subject(s) - medicine , immunoglobulin e , asthma , eosinophilia , eosinophil , immunology , bronchitis , provocation test , antibody , pathology , alternative medicine
Summary After a follow‐up period for 15–40 months (mean 31 months) of 81 children, aged 2–66 A high serum IgE concentration was found initially in 44 % of first‐time‐wheezers who became asthmatics and in 7% of children regarded as “healthy at the end of the investigation period. Asthma seemed to be predicted better by a high serum IgE value than by eosinophilia (< 400/mm3) but the reverse was found when the number of blood eosinophils was high (> 700/mm3). A variation of the serum IgE concentration with the time of the year was found in all months, with asthmatoid bronchitis 19 (23 %) were clinically considered to suffer from true asthma and 8 (10%) from allergic rhinoconjunctivitis or urticaria. These children had significantly higher serum IgE concentrations and a significantly greater number of blood eosinophils than the 35 children considered to be “healthy. Nineteen children (23 %) had still episodes of wheezy bronchitis at the end of the investigation period and these children also had significantly higher serum IgE levels and a significantly greater number of blood eosinophils than the “healthy children. Although none of the children with “asthmatoid bronchitis had clinically apparent asthma, 2 had IgE antibodies to animal danders and pollen as shown by RAST and in both bronchial provocation tests were positive. Another 4 children in this group had high IgE as well as an increased total of blood eosinophils (> 700/mm 3 ) indicating that they probably had reaginic asthma. groups but least pronounced in the asthma group. The lowest levels were found at the beginning of the year and the highest values in the autumn.