Sublingual immunotherapy against latex sensitivity.

A new study by Italian researchers presented at the World Allergy Organization XXI World Allergy Congress (Buenos Aires, Argentina, December 6-10, 2009) has shown that sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) against latex allergy has a good safety profile, with only a minority of patients experiencing local adverse effects during the induction of immunotherapy. The adverse effects diminish during the maintenance phase.

The study enrolled 15 participants (11 females, four males) with occupational allergy to natural rubber latex products. The ages of the subjects ranged from 26-46 years (mean, 36.6 years). When diagnosed with latex sensitivity, eight patients had rhinitis, four had rhinitis and asthma and three had urticaria. No other allergic respiratory disease was present. All patients were evaluated with skin-prick tests for standard inhalant allergen extracts; they also received a skin-prick test with latex extract and serum-specific immunoglobulin E.

A four-day sublingual induction phase (in which patients received a cumulative dose of up to 500 [micro]g) was performed in the hospital. The maintenance phase was self-administered at home and consisted of three administrations per week for six months. The latex extract used (ALK-Abello) was an ammoniac extract similar to that used in latex gloves. Patients were asked to record adverse effects or adverse events possibly related to the SLIT, their time of onset, and any treatment.

Of the 15 subjects, three developed local adverse reactions: two reported mouth itching and one reported oral itching and tongue edema. The remaining 12 patients reported no reactions to the SLIT. No systemic reactions were reported.

http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Sublingual+immunotherapy+against+latex+sensitivity.-a0219590661