Evaluation of the prevalence of skin prick test positivity to Alternaria and Cladosporium in patients with suspected respiratory allergy - A European multicenter study promoted by the Subcommittee on Aerobiology and Environmental Aspects of Inhalant Allergens of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology

This trial was undertaken to study, in several geographically spread European countries, the prevalence of skin prick test (SPT) positivity to Alternaria (A) and Cladosporium (C) in subjects with nasal and/or bronchial symptoms of suspected allergic cause. Each patient completed an anamnestic questionnaire and underwent SPT with a panel of common inhalant allergens and also A and C supplied by three different laboratories, to allow for manufacturer bias. Specific serum IgE determination was carried out only in subjects with SPT positivity to A and/or C with an immunoassay system. In nine European allergology centers, a total of 877 subjects was enrolled in the trial; 83 of them showed SPT positivity to A and/or C; only nine patients showed monosensitization to A, and none to C. The highest percentage of positive subjects was found in Spain (20%); the lowest in Portugal (3%). In the other seven centers, the variation was 7-10%. The age range of mold-positive subjects was 5-60 years. Rhinitis was by far the most common symptom, whether associated or not with asthma and/or conjunctivitis.