COMPARISON OF 3 IMMUNOASSAYS FOR DIAGNOSING SENSITIZATION TO LATEX INCHILDREN WITH SPINA-BIFIDA

As natural rubber latex (latex) has become more widespread in our envi ronment, physicians have become increasingly aware of the problem of p ossible allergic reactions. Many fatal and near-fatal incidents have b een reported (mainly during surgery) (1-3) and data has been published on groups frequently exposed to latex, such as patients with spina bi fida (4-9), healthcare professionals (10-12) and occupationally expose d persons (13). The incidence of latex allergy in children seems to be increasing (14). Tests are therefore needed which can reliably detect sensitization to latex. Our aim was to compare the diagnostic accurac y of three commercial immunoassays for measuring specific IgE in serum to latex.