Latex allergy and its clinical features among healthcare workers at Mankweng Hospital, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Background and objectives. Latex allergy, caused by sensitisation in atopic individuals, is a common occupational disease among healthcare workers who use latex gloves. It may be present in non-atopic individuals as well. The main objective of this study was to document the prevalence and disease spectrum of latex allergy at Mankweng Hospital, Limpopo Province, South Africa. The secondary objective was to determine clinical presentation of the disease. Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive study, with an analytical component, was conducted among healthcare workers who worked in high-risk areas for latex sensitisation. ImmunoCAP testing was performed and followed by a skin-prick test (SPT) in those who tested negative to the blood test. Results. Two hundred screening questionnaires were distributed to healthcare workers at the hospital. Of these 158 (79.0%) were returned, with 59 participants meeting the inclusion criteria (experiencing symptoms due to wearing latex gloves). The mean age of the participants was 39.6 years (standard deviation 9.8 years, range 20 -60 years). There were more females (98.1%) than males (1.9%). Glove-related symptoms were present in 59 subjects (37.1%), in 7 (11.9%) of whom the ImmunoCAP was positive to latex (95% confidence interval 4.2 -22.9%). Fourteen participants were lost to follow-up before the SPT was performed. Thirty-eight of the participants with negative ImmunoCAP tests underwent SPT. Positive SPTs were reported in 5 of these 38 workers (13.2%), indicating that the ImmunoCAP test missed 11.1% (5/45) of latex-allergic individuals. The prevalence of latex allergy in this study was 8.3% (12/144). A denominator of 144 was used, as there is a possibility that some of the 14 individuals lost to follow-up could have tested positive to latex sensitisation by SPT. The symptoms experienced by latex-sensitised workers were rhinitis (100.0%), asthma (50.0%), dermatitis (25.0%), severe anaphylaxis (8.3%), abdominal pain (8.3%) and angio-oedema (8.3%). Conclusion. Our findings reveal that latex allergy is a problem at our hospital. The prevalence of 8.3% is comparable to findings in other South African centres. We recommend a latex-free protocol for high-risk areas and healthcare workers.

Latex allergy: ‘Plight, rights and fights’

“…[5] The findings of Risenga and colleagues are very similar to the data from 1997 and 2001. [1,2] So little has changed!…”

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“…The obtained data by self-reported questionnaires and diagnostic procedures agree with literature reports, which emphasize the role of latex allergy as major occupational health problem in health care workers, affecting 0.5 to 18% of subgroups at risk [1,2,[9][10][11][12][13]. Additionally, our study revealed concentration changes during the work practice.…”

“…Natural rubber latex (NRL) allergy is a common occupational disease among healthcare workers who use latex gloves [1][2][3]. Diagnosis of latex allergy is based on personal history, physical examination, skin prick, patch and challenge tests, or specific IgE determination, while self-administrated questionnaires are largely used to assess data about natural history, risk factors, etc [4][5][6][7].…”

Editor's Choice

“…A paper [7] and accompanying editorial [8] aptly capture the 'plight, rights and fights' of latex-allergic healthcare workers. New opportunities exist for both prevention and treatment of latex allergy for health professionals, of which hospital administrators need to be aware.…”