Background: childhood atopic dermatitis (AD) most commonly presents
with sensitization to environmental allergens. Presence of food allergenspecific
IgE is common in childhood and does not always correlate with
clinical symptoms, which in children usually affect the skin and may
exacerbate the course of AD. Exposure to an allergen in the gastrointestinal
tract activates Th2 immune reactions. Objective: with this study we wanted
to compare blood and stool Th2 cytokine concentrations and fecal
calprotectin (FC) value in pediatric AD with (eAD) and without (iAD)
sensitization to food. Methods: 51 children with AD were enrolled in the
study. 57% (n=29) had food allergen specific IgE and comprised eAD
group, 43% (n=22) – iAD group. Blood and stool were tested for IL-4, IL-5,
IL-13 concentrations using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Stool
samples were tested for FC concentrations. Results: iAD had significantly
higher blood and stool IL-4 values than eAD: 2.82 pg/ml vs. 0, p=0.005;
2.98 pg/ml vs. 0, p=0.007, respectively. There was no difference in IL-5 and
IL-13 blood and stool concentrations between the groups. Children with AD
had significantly higher FC values, compared to healthy controls: 36.5
mg/kg vs. 6.45 mg/kg, p=0.018. FC was slightly higher in eAD group than
iAD, but the difference was not significant: 38.5 mg/kg vs. 25.0 mg/kg,
p=0.861 . Conclusions: sensitization to food is not significantly associated
with Th2 cytokines in pediatric AD patients. Increase in FC values is
characteristic to AD, but not sensitization to food.