title: [Clinical characteristics of atopic dermatitis in a group of patients attending to the Regional Center of Allergy and Clinical Immunology of Monterrey, Mexico].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflamatory disease of the skin which mainly affects children. It is characterized by itch and cutaneous hyperactivity with typical lesions that depend on the affected age group and the disease stage. It is frequently associated to rhinitis and asthma.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To identify the clinical characteristics of atopic dermatitis in patients treated at the Regional Center of Allergy and Clinical Immunology of Monterrey, NL, Mexico.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective and descriptive study was done by the review of clinical files of patients with atopic dermatitis diagnosis from January 1997 to May 2002. The statistical analysis was done by central tendency measures.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We reviewed 119 clinical files, 53 (44.5%) were male and 66 (55.5%) female. The most frequent clinical manifestations were pruritus and eczematous lesions, both in 117 patients (98.3%). Fifty-five percent of the patients initiated symptoms before 6 years of age. Eighty eight patients (74%) had family and/or personal history of atopia. Other associated manifestations were allergic rhinitis in 38 patients (31.9%), asthma and rhinitis in 25 patients (21%) and only asthma in 2 patients (1.7%). In 44 patients, food skin tests were done with a positive result in 25 patients, the most frequent was to egg (68%) and in 64 patients these were positive to aeroallergens being the most frequent Dermatophagoides p teronyssinus (85.1%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The pruritus and eczematous lesions were the most constant manifestations in this group of patients where family and/ or personal history of atopia was frequent.
authors.affiliation: Centro Regional de Alergia e Inmunología Clinica del Hospital Universitario Dr. José E. González, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Monterrey, México.
authors.forename: Elías
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Medina Segura
authors.forename: Sandra N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: González Díaz
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arias Cruz
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Canseco González
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003876:Dermatitis, Atopic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006268:Health Facilities; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D012189:Retrospective Studies