Revue Francaise d'Allergologie, cilt.64, sa.6, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)
Study Objective: Fungi are recognized as allergenic sources and may play a role in the development, persistency, and severity of allergic diseases. Alternaria, Cladosporium, Penicillium, and Aspergillus, which belong to the Phylum Ascomycota, are well-characterized four genera among fungi species. To our knowledge, there is not enough data about monosensitization to fungi. We aimed to investigate the characteristics of monosensitized patients to fungal allergens. Patients-Methods: Sixty-seven adult patients, who had a positive skin prick test reaction with fungal allergen out of a total of 4200 SPT results performed between January 2015 and June 2022 in two tertiary centers were included in the study. The clinical data of the patients were obtained retrospectively from the hospital medical records. Results: Fifty-six (83.6%) patients were sensitized to one type of fungal allergen (Female/Male: 38/18) and eleven (16.4%) (Female/Male: 9/2) were sensitized to two types of fungi. Aspergillus was the most prevalent fungal allergen, followed by Cladosporium and Alternaria. Allergic rhinitis was the most common allergic disease. Conclusion: Monosensitization to fungal allergens is rare. Monosensitization to at least one fungal allergen may lead to significant allergic diseases by potentially impacting the immune system.