Clinical and laboratory aspects of mosquito bite allergy in children of the Moscow region
Aim: to provide clinical and laboratory characteristics for pediatric patients with mosquito bite allergy on the example of the population in Moscow, to determine the proportion of mosquito bite allergy in the general structure of allergic pathology in children and to determine the aggravating risk factors of its occurrence. Patients and Methods: 1587 patients under 18 y.o. were examined. The presence of hypersensitivity manifestations, their clinical patterns, and allergy diagnostics data were evaluated based on the study in vitro. The first part of the study involved 705 children with a confirmed atopic diagnosis including a history of mosquito bite allergy (247 children in the main group) or without it (426 children in control group 1). In the second part of the study, the main group was compared with the control group 2, which consisted of 14 children without allergic pathology and atopic predisposition (conditionally healthy), who had a history of allergic symptoms to mosquito bites. Results: children with confirmed allergic pathology had complaints about the occurrence of hyperergic reactions of varying severity to mosquito bites in 35% of cases. Children of preschool (66.7%) and junior school (16.7%) ages predominated. In 88.7% of them there were the manifestations of topical reactions. In 11.3% of cases, there was the development of mild to moderate systemic reactions. No severe systemic reactions were observed. Patients of the main group with insect-bite allergy suffered from skin manifestations in the form of atopic dermatitis (22.7% and 13.3%, p<0.05) and recurrent urticaria (3.2% and 1.4%, p<0.05) more often than patients of control group 1. There was a correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient: η=0.71, p<0.05) between the incidence of allergic symptoms to mosquito bites and the presence of allergic dermatosis. 2.7% of children in the main group had cross-sensitization with fish and/or seafood allergens. In 3.6% of cases, the development of IgE-mediated allergy was noted. Conclusion: aggravating factors for the development of mosquito bite allergy are the following: preschool age (4-7 years), the presence of allergic dermatoses, the presence of allergies to fish and/or seafood. It is necessary to further study the mechanisms of insect -bite allergy and search for new diagnostic tools.