Abstract

INTRODUCTION

The aim of the study is to measure serum levels of TSLP and TARC, to evaluate the relationship with disease severity and to compare the results with the levels of healthy controls.

METHODS

The severity of the atopic dermatitis was determined by SCORing atopic dermatitis score (SCORAD). Skin prick test was performed to evaluate atopic status. Serum TSLP and TARC were measured in all participants.

RESULTS

Serum levels of TSLP and TARC were significantly higher in children with atopic dermatitis than that of healthy controls (p=0.001, p=0.004, respectively). While, there was an association between disease severity and serum TARC levels (p=0.014), no association was found with TSLP (p=0.80). There was no correlation between TSLP and TARC (p=0.576), however, TARC was negatively correlated with age of the children with atopic dermatitis (r= -0.426, p=0.038). In Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, Area Under Curve (AUC) was 0,780 [95% Confident Interval (0,640 - 0,885), p<0.001] for serum TSLP level to estimate atopic dermatitis. The sensitivity of serum TSLP level of 30,41 pg/mL was 72% and the specificity was 84% to estimate atopic dermatitis. The AUC was 0,738 [95% Confident Interval (0,595 - 0,852), p=0.0007] for serum TARC level to estimate atopic dermatitis. The sensitivity of serum TARC level of 242.68 pg/mL was 72% and specificity was 68% to estimate atopic dermatitis.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Serum levels of TSLP and TARC are closely related with atopic dermatitis in infants. Serum TARC level is associated with severity of atopic dermatitis.