The aspects of local allergic rhinitis in Polish children and adolescents

Introduction:
Local allergic rhinitis (LAR) is one of the endotypes of rhinitis which occurs commonly in different age groups.

Aim:
To present the occurrence and characteristics of LAR in Polish children and adolescents.

Material and methods:
In the study protocol, three hundred sixty-one patients aged 5–17 with chronic rhinitis were included from 8 centres in Poland. Medical history and diagnostic procedures were performed with aeroallergens: skin prick tests, allergen-specific serum IgE and nasal provocation tests. In addition to LAR, allergic rhinitis (AR), dual allergic rhinitis (DUAL) and non-allergic rhinitis (NAR) were explored and compared.

Results:
LAR was confirmed in 21% of patients, systemic allergic rhinitis (SAR) in 43.9%, DUAL in 9.4% and NAR in 33.9% of patients. Based on nasal provocation test (NPT), allergy to HDM prevailed in the LAR group (68%), grass in the SAR group (58%), and grass and HDM in the DUAL group (32% and 64%). Girls were prevalent in the LAR group, and severe rhinitis and asthma were more common than other endotypes (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:
LAR is a common disease in children and adolescents and is often associated with severe rhinitis and frequently coexists with asthma.