Analysis of Allergic Rhinitis according to New Classification Regarded by ARIA(Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) Guideline : Difference with Classification by Antigen Detected by Multiple Allergen Simultaneous Test(MAST)

Lee, Sun Kyu; Kim, Sung Wan; Yeo, Seung Gun; Cho, Joong Saeng

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
: Allergic rhinitis has previously been classified as seasonal, perennial or occupational according to duration of exposure to allergens ; this classification, however, has posed difficulty for care providers in planning the stepwise treatment of allergic rhinitis. According to the ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) workshop report, allergic rhinitis was re-classified as intermittent or persistent according to duration of symptoms, and mild or moderate-to-severe according to severity of symptoms. There has been no reports regarding the distribution of allergic rhinitis by using the new ARIA classification. We aimed to find out the distribution of allergic rhinitis according to the new ARIA classification and its usefulness in clinical use. Subjects and METHOD : A total of 502 allergic rhinitis patients were subjected to this study. They were classified under the previous classification into seasonal, perennial, and multiple. They were classified by new ARIA classification into persistent mild, persistent moderate-to-severe, intermittent mild, and intermittent moderate-to-severe. Their distribution and characteristics were analyzed.
RESULTS
: When classified according to previous classification, patients sensitized with perennial allergens, seasonal allergens and multi-allergens were 326 (64.9%), 63 (12.5%) and 113 (22.5%) respectively. According to the new ARIA classification, persistent mild, persistent moderate-to-severe, intermittent mild and intermittent moderate-tosevere patients were 82 (16.3%), 161 (32.1%), 159 (31.7%) and 100 (19.9%) respectively. The patients sensitized with perennial allergen were classified to persistent mild (17.5%), persistent moderate-to-severe (32.5%), intermittent mild (31.6%), intermittent moderate-to-severe (18.4%) by new ARIA classification. Half of patients with intermittent symptoms were sensitized by perennial allergen. Among the patients sensitized by only seasonal allergen, 24 (36.5%) had persistent symptoms. There were no difference in group distribution between the rhinorrhea-sneezer and blocker groups.
CONCLUSION
: Patient distribution by the new ARIA classification was different from the previous classification. From the point of clinicians, the new ARIA classification might be more useful for stepwise treatment and exact evaluation of allergic rhinitis patients than the previous classification.