Citation:

Lindstrom, A.B., M. Beck, M. Henry, D. Barnes, AND F. Henderson. A NEW HOUSE DUST COLLECTION SYSTEM AND ITS USE IN A STUDY OF ASTHMA IN DUST MITE SENSITIVE CHILDREN IN RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/A-93/047 (NTIS PB93167237), 1993.

Description:

A prototype dust collection system, the House Dust Vacuum One (HDVI), was designed for use in a study to investigate the relationship between house dust mite antigen levels and the presence of asthma in dust mite sensitive children. The HDVI was designed for the collection of dust samples from all potentially relevant domestic substrates, with the primary sampling objective being the retrieval at least 100 mg of sample material. During the winter of 1991-92, dust samples were collected from six different microenvironments in the homes of 49 dust mite sensitive children living in the Raleigh, NC, metropolitan area. In addition to the standard antigen immunoassay, the performance of the HDVI was assessed by conducting side by side comparison tests using two alternative antigen collection systems. Microenvironmental antigen concentrations were found to be lognormally distributed within the test homes and within each microenvironment, with Der fI levels ranging from 0.2 - 750 ug/g sieved dust. Approximately 95% of the homes had at least one microenvironment with Der fI levels greater than 2 ug/g and 80% had at least one microenvironment with levels above 10 ug/g. No significant differences in microenvironmental Der fI concentrations from the homes of asthmatics and nonasthmatics were detected. The HDVI collected at least 100 mg of dust in more than 97% of the samples collected. While the HDVI collected significantly more dust by weight (from 44 - 172% more) than the two other collection systems, no statistical difference in antigen level per gram of sieved dust was detected. With the relatively large quantity of sample material collected and the ease with which the HDVI was able to collect samples from a wide variety of substrates, the new unit was determined to be well suited for surface dust and dust mite antigen collection studies.

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