Evaluation of Eosinophil Count in Infants with Food Protein-Induced Allergic Proctocolitis

Authors : Özlem Akbulut, Burcu Köksal, Tuğçe Şençelikel, Özlem Özbek

Pages : 15-20

Doi:10.26650/jchild.2023.1259234

View : 113 | Download : 77

Publication Date : 2023-10-24

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Objective: The incidence of allergic proctocolitis due to food protein is increasing. Therefore, studies are needed to elucidate the pathophysiology of the disease as well as to identify simple, non-invasive markers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the level of eosinophil in the blood and allergic proctocolitis. Materials and Methods: The files of patients who were diagnosed with allergic proctocolitis at the Pediatric Allergy Outpatient Clinic of Başkent University’s Faculty of Medicine, Ankara Hospital, between 2011 and 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Three groups were formed according to eosinophil counts. Those with an eosinophil count below 400 10³/µL were considered as the normal eosinophil group, those whose count was between 400-1499 10³/µL were considered as the eosinophilia group, and those with 1500 10³/µL and above were considered as the hypereosinophilia group. Results: There were 108 patients diagnosed with allergic proctocolitis, of which 49.1% (n:53) were male. Of all the patients, 14.8% (n: 16) were in the hypereosinophilia group and 29.6% (n: 32) were in the eosinophilia group. Eosinophil elevation was more common in boys. There was no statistically significant difference in eosinophil count between those with single and multiple food allergies. It was observed that multiple food allergies were more common in babies older than two months (n:76) than in babies aged two months and younger (n:32) (p=0.031). Conclusion: In our study, there was no difference between eosinophil levels and symptoms in infants with allergic proctocolitis. However, the importance of investigating multiple food allergies in the presence of eosinophilia in infants older than two months is clear.
Keywords : alerjik proktokolit, besin alerjisi, eozinofil, ınfant

ORIGINAL ARTICLE URL