Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Acta Medica Mediterranea, cilt.30, sa.1, ss.27-31, 2014 (SCI-Expanded)
Background and aim: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a chronic disease, which exhibits rapid increase in recent years and affects approximately 30-40% of the population worldwide. Demodex folliculorum (DF) is an ectoparasite, which is prevalent in human skin. The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of DF at eyelashes and cheek in patients with allergic rhinitis and controls. Materials and methods: The study included 63 patients with allergic rhinitis and 65 healthy individuals. For DF evaluations, 4 eyelashes were taken from all individuals. Five samples of standardized skin surface biopsies (SSSB) were taken from each subject from the forehead, cheeks, jaw and nose. Results: For eyelashes, the frequencies of DF were found as 50.8% in AR group, whereas 38.1% in control group. For face, it was found as 38.1% in AR group, whereas 12.3% in control group. The frequencies of DF at face and eyelashes were found to be significantly higher in patients with AR than controls (p=0.001 and p=0.0001, respectively). The DF was detected at eyelashes in 63.9% of the patients with ocular symptoms vs. 33.3% of those without (OR: 3.5 (95% CI: 1.2-10.1); p=0.016), whereas it was detected at face in 52.8% of the patients with ocular symptoms vs. 18.5% of those without (OR: 4.9 (95%CI: 1.5-15.8); p=0.008). Conclusion: The frequencies of DF at eyelashes and face were significantly higher in patients with AR than healthy individuals. The higher frequency of DF in patients with AR suggests that AR facilitate the colonization of this mite.