Objective:

To establish the prevalence of sensitization to dog and cat epithelium in a pediatric population aged 3 to 6 years.

Methods:

A descriptive, cross-sectional prevalence study was conducted as part of the study “Prevalence and risk factors for asthma, rhinitis, eczema, and atopy among preschool children in an Andean city.” The study population consisted of children from the city of Cuenca, Ecuador, who were administered the culturally validated ISAAC survey and underwent inhalant skin testing.

Results:

A total of 600 children were enrolled, with a prevalence of atopy of 33.45% (n = 179), sensitization to dog epithelium of 1.76% (n = 10), and sensitization to cat epithelium of 2.12% (n = 12), representing 5.59% and 6.70% of the atopic population, respectively.

Conclusion:

The prevalence of sensitization to cat and dog epithelium in children under 6 years of age is lower than expected in the clinical setting. Future studies should assess the sample size in relation to the prevalence of sensitization to cat and dog epithelium.

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