Respiratory Medicine
Respiratory Medicine
5 years ago

Who's at risk of thunderstorm asthma? The ryegrass pollen trifecta and lessons learnt from the Melbourne thunderstorm epidemic

Who's at risk of thunderstorm asthma? The ryegrass pollen trifecta and lessons learnt from the Melbourne thunderstorm epidemic
The Melbourne thunderstorm asthma epidemic in November 2016 was unprecedented in scale and impact. We systematically reviewed our hospital's patients with thunderstorm asthma to identify key risk factors. Of 85 adult patients assessed, the majority (60%) had no prior diagnosis of asthma. However, allergic rhinitis during the grass pollen season was almost universal (99%), as were ryegrass pollen sensitisation (100%) and exposure to the outdoor environment during the thunderstorm (94%). Airborne pollen levels on the thunderstorm day were extreme. We conclude that ryegrass pollen sensitisation, clinical allergic rhinitis, and acute allergen exposure constitute a risk-factor ‘trifecta’ for thunderstorm asthma.

Publisher URL: www.sciencedirect.com/science

DOI: S0954611117303517

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