Prevalence of Aspergillus hypersensitivity and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in patients with bronchial asthma at a tertiary care center in North India

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of Aspergillus hypersensitivity (AH) and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) has been variably reported. Systematic data regarding Aspergillus sensitization and ABPA are lacking from this part of the country. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of AH and ABPA in Uttar Pradesh. SETTING AND DESIGN: This was prospective observational study. All patients attending outpatient Department of Pulmonary Medicine of our institute were included in the study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Consecutive asthmatic patients underwent screening for ABPA using Aspergillus skin test (AST). Those showing a positive response to AST were further evaluated for ABPA. RESULTS: During the study, 350 patients (192 males, 158 females, mean ± standard deviation age: 38.3 ± 12.8) were screened with AST. One hundred and twenty-three patients (35.1%) were tested positive for AST and 21.7% of patients were diagnosed as ABPA. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence rate of ABPA was observed at our chest clinic. Although comparable with published data from other tertiary centers, it does not represent the true prevalence rates in asthmatics because of high chances of referral bias.