SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2005

10/18/05

Pediatric cutaneous mastocytosis

Summary
Background - Mastocytosis (M-cyto) is a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by abnormal accumulation of mast cells (MC) in the skin and sometimes other organs. M-cyto can occur in both children and adults.

Findings - Ben-Amitai et al of the Schneider Children's Hospital in Israel reviewed the clinical characteristic of M-cyto in 180 children followed by them over a 20 year period. In about 1/3 of the group, there was a mastocytoma present at birth or within the first year of life. Urticaria pigmentosa (UP) was present in 65% of the group, again generally present within the first year of life. In 11% of the UP cases, there was a familial pattern. UP lesions occurred mainly on the trunk and extremities. Different types of associated symptoms were present. The overall prognosis of M-cytosis in these children was generally good.

Conclusion - Pet removal reduces airway responsiveness and allows control of asthma without use of ICS.

Reference
Isr Med Assoc J 2005;7:320-2

Editor's Comments
The findings reported in this brief paper are of interest because of the large patient population analyzed and the relatively long follow-up in some of the children. Their conclusion about the overall good prognosis of M-cytosis in children is similar to that reported by others. One would have liked to see a description of MC mediator levels in the plasma and urine in comparison with the different symptoms present in individual patients. Perhaps, such will be reported elsewhere.

 

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