EVALUATION OF HOUSE DUST ANTIGEN IN CHRONIC TONSILLITIS

Abstract

To disclose the association of house dust antigen with chronic tonsillitis, studies were made on the procedure of preparing house dust extract and on its properties as an antigen. The association was confirmed by clinical, investigation of intradermal reaction conducted in cases of chronic tonsillitis along with diseases of the nose and sinuses.
Extract prepared from home dust in Japanese houses contains undoubtedly an antigenic substance and intradermal reaction following to injection of the extract results from antigen-antibody reaction. Since the skin reaction may be caused also by non-specific irritant contained in the extract, the reaction due to the antigenic substance is hardly differentiated by making use of Solution No. 1 and No. 2 (containing 0.1mg and 0.02mg of nitrogen, respectively). Tne sensitization with house dust should be determined by making use of Solution No. 3 which contains only 0.01mg of nitrogen.
Nitrogen content in the house dust extract may be regarded as an index of antigen titer.
The extract is preserved well with little decrease in potency for a considerable period of time at room temperature, so long as it was sealed in ampule, following to the extraction from Coca's alkaline solution and neutralization with phenolphthalein as an indicator.
In cases of chronic tonsillitis complicated with focal infection, the rate of positive reactors to the extract averaged 59.0 per cent, while those without complications gave a positive rate of 42.5 per cent. The difference was proved evident. As to the complications of focal infection, the skin reaction was positive in 63.6 per cent of chronic cases of tonsillitis with rheumatism and in 58.8per cent of those with nephritis. The same result was obtained by employing extract of higher dilution.
As to diseases of the nose and sinuses, the rates of positive intradermal reaction in allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis and chronic rhinitis were 55.0 per cent, 37.3 per cent, respectively.
Positive rate of skin reaction before and after tonsillectomy differed little from each other.
Mechanism of focal infection has never beestudied from the standpoint of antigenic substance introduced from the outside. Although home dust antigen which was inhaled through the respiratory passages was found not to be primary causes of focal infection, the present paper suggests some relation at least to manifestation of focal infection, and elucidation of the particular relationship depends much upon further studies.