Title: Airway Colonization with Alternaria and Cladosporium spp. in Fungi-Sensitized Asthma Patients in Sharkeya, Egypt
Abstract:Background: Sensitization to outdoor airborne fungi, as Alternaria and Cladosporium, is common in asthmatic patients, but the clinical relevance of this and the relationship with airway colonization b...Background: Sensitization to outdoor airborne fungi, as Alternaria and Cladosporium, is common in asthmatic patients, but the clinical relevance of this and the relationship with airway colonization by those fungi remain unclear. The range of fungi that may colonize the airways in asthmatic patients in Sharkeya, Egypt is unknown. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of colonization with Alternaria and Cladosporium spp. in a sample of asthmatic patients who are sensitized to those fungi in Sharkeya, Egypt. Methodology: In a case-control study, 103 asthmatic patients who had positive skin prick test (SPT) for Alternaria and /or Cladosporium, were compared with a well-matched control group of 100 healthy volunteers for detection of Alternaria and Cladosporium in their sputum by conventional methods (microscopy with lactophenol cotton blue stain and culture on Sabouraud dextrose agar). Specific IgE (sIgE) for Alternaria alternata and Cladosporium cladosporoides was measured in both groups. Results: Common environmental molds; Aspergillus (38.2%), Alternaria (35.3%), Zygomycetes(13.2%), Aeurobasidium(4.4%), Gliocladium (4.4%), Cladosporium (3%) and Epicoccum (1.5%), were isolated from patients sputa in a significantly higher frequency than in controls (P 0.05). Conclusion: This study suggests Alternaria as a major allergen that its presence in the sputum and subsequent development of sensitization could have a significant role in the induction of asthma in our locality.Read More
Publication Year: 2016
Publication Date: 2016-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 1
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