Contact urticaria and anaphylaxis to natural latex

Latex in a variety of products can cause contact urticaria (a skin reaction characterized by the eruption of pale wheals, or elevations, and severe itching). Some of these products are surgical gloves, rubber cleaning gloves, and contraceptives. Seventeen patients who had a reaction to natural rubber gloves were studied, 12 of whom had experienced an anaphylactic reaction (a sudden, severe allergic reaction that can lead to death) during surgery. Prick tests (small pricks made on the skin) were performed on patients and on 206 controls, using latex surgical glove material and natural latex. The sizes of wheals and flares (spreading area of redness) were measured. Immunoglobulin levels (molecules that are part of the immune response) were also assayed in blood sampled from the subjects. Results showed that all five patients who had a contact urticaria had a positive reaction from both skin prick tests, as did 10 of the 12 patients who had reacted during surgery. Two of the 12 patients reacted to the skin prick test to natural latex, but not to latex gloves. IgE (an immunoglobulin associated with allergy) for latex was found in 10 patients. Most allergic reactions to latex occur among cleaning and operating room personnel, with a prevalence among the latter group as high as 6.2 percent. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)