A MEDICAL-CENTER-WIDE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE PROBLEM OF NATURAL-RUBBER LATEX ALLERGY

Latex is a common cause of occupational allergy in health care workers ; latex-sensitized patients are at increased risk of allergic reaction s in medical environments. Shin test reagents and latex-specific immun oglobulin E immunoassays were established for diagnosis of latex aller gy. Inhibition immunoassays were developed for measuring latex aeroall ergens and latex allergens in rubber products. A registry of latex-sen sitive employees was established. High-allergen gloves were removed fr om the medical center inventory; latex aeroallergen levels subsequentl y declined. Despite an increasing number of gloves used annually, expe nditures for gloves in 1994 were lower than in previous years. Latex-s ensitive individuals can be identified using skin tests or immunoassay s. Latex aeroallergen levels in medical environments can be reduced su bstantially at lower cost by using-powder-free rubber gloves with lowe r allergen content.