IgE concentrations in allergic asthma in children

Abstract

Serum concentrations of immunoglobulin E (IgE) were determined in 197 children, aged 2 to 16 years, with bronchial asthma. 47% of the children had raised concentrations of IgE in serum. Patients hypersensitive to two or more allergens showed a higher incidence of raised IgE in serum (52%) than those reacting to only one allergen (23%), whereas only 1 of the 10 children in whom allergy investigation proved negative had raised serum IgE. In children where bronchial asthma was the only atopic disease, the incidence of raised serum IgE was low (14%), whereas high incidences (58-84%) were found when atopic dermatitis, urticaria, and gastrointestinal allergy occurred in addition to bronchial asthma. Patients with food allergy had a higher incidence of raised serum IgE than the total group of patients with allergic bronchial asthma. No significant difference in serum IgE concentrations was found in children subjected to hyposensitization therapy as compared with those who had not received such treatment. It is concluded that serum IgE determination is a valuable diagnostic tool in distinguishing between allergic and nonallergic asthma in selected cases, when it is used as a supplement to a thorough allergy investigation.