Bronchial hyperresponsiveness in atopic dermatitis

Abstract

We investigated the prevalence of bronchial asthma, immediate skin reactivity and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in 40 patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Eight patients reported to have asthma while 29 were found responders to methacholine test (PC20 Mch less than 64 mg/ml) and 21 were skin reactors. The prevalence of skin positive reactions did not differ in responder and non-responder (PC20 Mch greater than 64 mg/ml) groups. Males were more likely both to have bronchial asthma and be responders to methacholine test than females. Moreover, responders had an earlier age of onset of AD than the non-responders. We suggest that bronchial responsiveness should be evaluated in children with AD.