Korean J Dermatol.  2005 Nov;43(11):1482-1487.

The Relationship between Anti-Pityrosporum IgE Level and Clinical Manifestations in Atopic Dermatitis Patients with Head and Neck Dermatitis

• Lee Y
• Seo YJ
• Lee JH
• Park JK
• Kim YS
• Yoon JS
• Suhr KB

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Head and neck dermatitis is a variant of atopic dermatitis often seen in young adult. Though the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis is still not well elucidated, Pityrosporum is considered to be one of the triggering factors for head and neck dermatitis. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the relationship between Pityrosporum infection and clinical features of head and neck dermatitis patients. METHODS: We evaluated anti-Pityrosporum IgE levels using RAST method in 68 outpatients with atopic dermatitis and other allergen specific antigens with MAST-CLA techniques. RESULTS: Among the 68 atopic dermatitis, 36 were diagnosed as atopic dermatitis with head and neck dermatitis and 24 out of 36 head and neck dermatitis patients showed RAST positive for Pityrosporum and the level of RAST was higher than atopic dermatitis patients without head and neck dermatitis with correlation coefficient (p<0.05). The severity of erythema and eczematous reaction was also correlated with the positivity of RAST with statistical significance (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: From these results, we speculate Pityrosporum can influence the severity and clinical manifestations in atopic dermatitis patients with head and neck dermatitis.

Keyword

Head and neck dermatitis; Atopic dermatitis; Pityrosporum; RAST

MeSH Terms

Dermatitis*
Dermatitis, Atopic*
Erythema
Head*
Humans
Immunoglobulin E*
Malassezia
Neck*
Outpatients
Young Adult
Immunoglobulin E