Rhinitis Symptoms during Challenge with House Dust Mites in Nasal Provocation Test Correlates with Those during Exposure to House Dust in Daily Life.

Rationale: Objective of this study is to evaluate the correlation between symptoms during house dust exposure in daily life (HDE-in-DL) and those during house dust mite challenge in nasal provocation test (HDMC-in-NPT) in patients with allergic rhinitis (AR).

Methods: Nine patients with AR who were sensitized to Dermatophagoides farinae (Df) and/or Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (Dp) and whose symptoms were provoked by HDE-in-DL were underwent NPT with Df and/or Dp using acoustic rhinometry, and answered the questionnaires regarding rhinitis symptoms during HDE-in-DL using visual analogue scale. This process was repeated three times.

Results: Itchy nose during HDE-in-DL correlated with that during HDMC-in-NPT (γ = 0.382, P = 0.003), and so did rhinorrhea (γ = 0.350, P = 0.031). Nasal obstruction during HDE-in-DL was also prone to relate with that during HDMC-in-NPT (γ = 0.286, P = 0.082), and so did sneezing (γ = 0.270, P = 0.107). The luminal volume reduction of nasal cavity in NPT negatively correlated with symptom of nasal obstruction during HDE-in-DL and HDMC-in-NPT (γ = - 0.422, P = 0.005; γ = - 0.479, P = 0.004; respectively), rhinorrhea during HDE-in-DL and HDMC-in-NPT (γ = - 0.282, P = 0.070; γ = - 0.583, P = 0.000; respectively), itchy nose during HDE-in-DL (γ = - 0.373, P = 0.015), and sneezing during HDMC-in-NPT (γ = - 0.481, P = 0.004).

Conclusions: Rhinitis symptoms during HDMC-in-NPT correlate with those during HDE-in-DL. The luminal volume reduction of nasal cavity in NPT also correlates with rhinitis symptoms during HDE-in-DL and HDMC-in-NPT.