Profile of sensitizations to common pneumallergens in asthmatic patients in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Abstract

In order to improve the quality of care for asthmatic patients, we studied the profile of sensitization to aeroallergens in asthmatic subjects received in the teaching hospital (pulmonology unit) of Bobo-Dioulasso,
Burkina Faso.
We performed a prospective study of 896 patients with asthma, received from January 2005 to December 2012. A skin prick test was performed.
Seven hundred eighty-one patients (87.1%) showed positive reactions to aeroallergens tested. Among these atopic patients, sensitization to mite allergens was the most frequent (87.3%), followed by those to cockroach allergens (38.1%) and molds (37%). Positive reactions to cat allergen (14%), dog (10.8%), latex (7.9%) and mouse (1.4%) were also observed.
The allergenic sources identified are factors triggering or aggravating asthma, as demonstrated by several studies. Identification of atopy is a great step of these patients asthma management.