[Latex sensitization in 28 patients]

We present a review of 28 cases of sensitization to latex. Skin prick test for latex was performed in subjects suspected of having allergy to latex and many fruits. Recently, many publications have evidenced the importance of sensitization to latex. There are well documented cases of intraoperatory anaphylaxis. Frequently, this happens to children with congenital urologic malformations, spina bifida or myelomeningocele, who undergo numerous surgical operations and vesical catheterizations. Latex-induced allergy also affects health professionals, since they are continuously in contact with latex-derived materials. There are other studies that relate latex-induced allergy to several fruit allergies (mainly chestnuts, bananas and avocados). In recent literature some discrepancy exists about the reliability of the prick test and the sensibility of in vitro diagnostic methods. We analyze 28 cases of latex sensitization from our clinic, comparing the most severe cases with the remaining subjects. Atopia antecedents were present in 82%, sub-clinical sensitization in 10 cases, urticaria/angioderma in 5, anaphylaxis in 9, and contact dermatitis in 4. Women were majority, with 22 cases versus 6 males. In patients with latex-induced anaphylaxis, the significantly most frequent feature was previous professional exposure to latex (p = 0.004). Specific IgE was measured by radioallergosorbent test (RAST), finding the highest values in the most severe clinical cases (p=0.0016), comparable to the results of the prick test, which still is the best diagnostic method. In our experience, banana and chestnut-induced allergies were the allergies most frequently associated to latex-induced allergy. There were no adverse reactions in any patient after the prick test.