Latex allergy, a special risk for patients of otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery?

Hilgert, Eva; Jund, Fenna; Klemens, Christine; Pfrogner, Elisabeth; Pauli, Christof; Rasp, Gerd; Kramer, Matthias F.

doi:10.1016/j.amjoto.2006.07.005

« Previous Next »American Journal of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Medicine and Surgery
Volume 28, Issue 2 , Pages 103-109, March 2007

Latex allergy, a special risk for patients of otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery?

Eva Hilgert, MD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
- Corresponding author. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University, Klinikum Grosshadern, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81377 Muenchen, Germany. Tel.: +49 89 7095 3892.
Fenna Jund, MD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
Christine Klemens, MD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
Elisabeth Pfrogner, Research Nurse
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany
Christof Pauli, MD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Kufstein, Austria
Gerd Rasp, PhD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Katharinenhospital Stuttgart, Germany
Matthias F. Kramer, MD
- Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich, Germany

Received 29 June 2006

Abstract

A total of 206 patients of the otorhinolaryngology (ORL) department and 204 of the visceral surgery department of the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich were preoperatively evaluated for latex-specific sensitization. A prick test, a questionnaire, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay immunoprecipitation for IgE antibodies were performed. Latex is a widely spread allergen, and it does not only concern healthcare populations. Within the ORL surgery group, 43 (20.9%) patients were sensitized against latex allergen, and 2 of them were reported to manifest symptoms in consorting with latex. In the cohort of visceral surgery patients, we detected only 23 patients (11.3%) with sensitization against latex. Moreover, most patients were positively detected with the skin prick test (86.4%), whereas the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method was less sensitive (18.3%). Patients of the ORL department were considerably more frequently exposed to latex protein particles than patients of the visceral surgery department. This difference attributes to their significant difference in mean age: 44 years in the ORL patients group versus 58 years in the visceral patients cohort. Furthermore, we did not find any correlation to the number of past operations—although undergoing any surgical procedures is a well-known risk factor in other studies about latex sensitization in surgical patients.