Skin testing with food, codeine, and histamine in exercise-induced anaphylaxis

A 33-year-old Chinese woman with exercise-induced anaphylaxis after ingesting Chinese seafood noodle soup, was studied for skin test reactivity to food, histamine, and codeine. Prick skin tests were negative for shrimp, wheat, and chicken soup base, but were positive at 5 to 6 mm (wheal diameter) to the whole broth after it had been combined with the other ingredients. No significant (> 3 mm) wheals were observed in eight controls who were simultaneously tested with the broth. To assess the role of exercise, three series of skin tests were performed with histamine, codeine, and whole broth before and after aerobic exercise on two occasions. Codeine elicited consistent increases in wheal size after exercise compared with pre-exercise skin tests. Histamine and whole broth wheal sizes did not increase significantly. Three control subjects also had codeine and histamine skin tests before and after exercise, No exercise-associated increases were noted for codeine. Potential insights into mast cell abnormalities in exercise-induced anaphylaxis may be gained by skin testing patterns with codeine and other mast cell degranulating agents.