Atopic dermatitis in Taiwanese children: The laboratory values that correlate best to the SCORAD index are total IgE and positive Cheddar cheese IgE

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic relapsing inflammatory skin disease associated with a personal or family history of atopic diseases. Determining the objective severity scoring of AD index (SCORAD) and total immunoglobulin E (IgE) to help to stage the severity (lesions extent and intensity of the lesions and then the itch and sleep disturbance they may cause) of AD in children. In this study, we adopted the SCORAD index, which consists of severity, area, and sleep disturbance, to evaluate the AD status of children up to 18 years old. We examined the blood levels of total serum IgE, white blood cell count/differential count (WBC/DC), eosinophil counts (EC), eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and specific IgE. A total of 208 children with AD were enrolled in this study. Serum IgE values and a number of specific IgE that are positive significantly different SCORAD index through simple linear regression; however, after multiple linear regression, only IgE values (95% CI: 0.001–0.004, P < .001), total WBC count (95% CI: 0.112–1.736, P = .026), EC (95% CI: 0.045–6.706, P = .047), and specific IgE to Cheddar cheese (95% CI: 1.814–16.731, P = .015) remain different. After applying the Phi coefficient, we found that specific IgE to tuna (r = 0.632), codfish (r = 0.613), and clam (r = 0.613) each had a moderate correlation with specific IgE to Cheddar cheese. The 6 most common allergens were found to be mite (D. Farinae: 65.9%), mite (D. Pterony: 64.9%), house dust (47.6%), cockroach mix (37.0%), shrimp (30.8%), and crab (22.6%). Covariates of SCORAD index, severity, area, and sleep disturbance differed. In this study, we found that total IgE values, specific IgE values, WBC, EC, and specific IgE to Cheddar cheese have significant correlations with SCORAD index in AD of Taiwanese children.