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Evidence of ige‐mediated hypersensitivity in allergic fungal sinusitis
Author(s) -
Manning Scott C.,
Mabry Richard L.,
Schaefer Steven D.,
Close Lanny G.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-199307000-00002
Subject(s) - radioallergosorbent test , immunology , medicine , allergy , immunoglobulin e , antigen , aspergillus , serology , aspergillus fumigatus , sinusitis , allergen , biology , antibody , microbiology and biotechnology
Despite documentation of specific immunologic hypersensitivity in a few case reports, controversy continues as to the role of allergy versus true infection in the clinical entity of allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS). Using a modified radioallergosorbent test (RAST) to multiple fungal antigens, 16 patients meeting the histologic criteria of AFS and with positive fungal cultures were compared to 5 control patients with similar preoperative clinical findings but without histologic or culture evidence of AFS. All patients were immunocompetent and none demonstrated histologic evidence of tissue invasion. All AFS patients were RAST-positive to at least one fungal antigen in the family of their cultured organism with positive defined as class 2 or greater. No control patient was RAST-positive to either dematiaceous or Aspergillus fungal antigens. Thus, modified RAST testing can aid in the routine clinical diagnosis of AFS, and it provides further serologic evidence for a type I hypersensitivity in the pathogenesis of AFS.