Spectrum of skin prick test reactivity to common aeroallergens in patients of bronchial asthma and/or allergic rhinitis attending a tertiary care center in central Rajasthan

BACKGROUND: Aeroallergens play an important role in the pathogenesis of respiratory allergic diseases. Identification of the most prevalent aeroallergens, to which the patients are sensitized, has an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of bronchial asthma (BA) and allergic rhinitis (AR) patients. Skin prick tests (SPTs) has an important role for this purpose. AIMS: The aims of this study were to identify the various aeroallergens by SPTs that give rise to BA and AR in patients, attending at a tertiary care center in central Rajasthan. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a prospective study conducted in patients with BA and/or AR, attending the Department of Respiratory Medicine, Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Science and Technology, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted between October 2023 and January 2025. A total of 130 patients were included in this study. All patients undergo clinical evaluation, routine blood investigations, chest radiography, X-ray paranasal sinus, and spirometry as a part of evaluation for allergic diseases. The SPTs were performed using a standard allergen extract panel in all the patients of our study. RESULTS: In our study, patients diagnosed with BA were 44 (33.8%), AR were 31 (23.8%) and having both BA and AR were 55 (42.3%). Pollens (78.5%) were the most common followed by insects (65.4%), housedust mites (40.8%), dusts (38.5%), and fungi (33.8%) were the offending aeroallergens. Among individual allergens, the most common aeroallergen was cockroach (50%) and the least common was cyperus (0.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The role of SPTs in diagnosis and guiding immunotherapy in allergic disorders is immense. This study will help for selecting the panel of most common aeroallergens for SPTs and will also help in finding the best species of allergens for immunotherapy in this area of central Rajasthan.