LATEX HYPERSENSITIVITY IN EMERGENCY MEDICAL-SERVICE PROVIDERS

Background: Emergency medical service providers have a high degree of exposure to latex products. Patients utilizing emergency medical servi ces can be allergic to latex products used during rescue efforts. Obje ctive: To determine the prevalence of latex hypersensitivity among eme rgency medical service providers. Methods: Study questionnaires were d istributed to a group of emergency medical service providers. Skin pri ck testing was performed using latex, common aeroallergens, and food e xtracts. Patch testing was done using latex and individual rubber addi tives. Serum latex-specific IgE was also measured. Results: A total of 93 completed surveys were collected. Average exposure to latex in the work environment was 8.2 years. Eighty-four (90%) used latex gloves r outinely at work. Of those, thirteen (14%) gave history of reaction to latex gloves. Sixty-two percent were not aware of the possibility of latex allergy in themselves or their patients. Forty-one (44%) had ski n testing. Of those, four (10%) had positive prick tests for at least one of the four latex preparations used. Five had positive skin tests to avocado extract without supporting clinical history. Two had positi ve skin tests to banana, one with supporting clinical history for bana na allergy. No food cross-reactivity with latex was demonstrated. Late x-specific serum correlated with prick skin test results. No positive reactions were noted with patch testing. Conclusions: A significant pe rcentage of emergency medical service providers were not aware of the occupational risk of latex allergy or the potential risk in their pati ents. A positive prick skin test for latex was present in 4 of 41 (10% ), representing one-third of those who reported symptoms from latex ex posure.