OBJECTIVES This article aims to review the current prevalence rate of latex allergy among healthcare workers, susceptible patients, and the general public, and to investigate why latex is still a ubiquitous occupational health hazard. METHODS Scientific publications on PubMed, particularly those published within the last five years, and current regulations from agencies such as Food and Drug ...

BACKGROUND Natural rubber latex allergy is a "new" illness whose prevalence has reached epidemic proportions in highly exposed populations such as health care professionals. OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of reactions to latex and risk factors due to glove use in health care workers (HCW) in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. METHODS We evaluated latex-rela...

Latex allergy has become an epidemic among healthcare workers. Other individuals who are frequently exposed to latex gloves or products containing latex have experienced latex hypersensitivity, as well. Identification of patients who have latex allergy is crucial to physicians in order to formulate a management plan. This article includes discussion of the basic background on latex preparation,...

Glove usage, particularly powdered latex glove is a cause of latex allergy in hospital workers; therefore those workers must have latex allergy knowledge to protect themselves and patients from serious health problems. This study aimed to examine knowledge about latex allergy among nurses and compare their performance with student nurses in Thailand. A knowledge questionnaire was administered t...

A 78-year-old woman visited the division of cardiovascular disease in our hospital. She underwent a cardiac catheter examination, and a Swan-Ganz catheter was inserted. Several minutes later, she developed anaphylactic shock. She had no past history of latex allergy, but did have a banana allergy. Skin prick tests showed a positive reaction to an extract of latex gloves and an extract of the ba...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The number of patients allergic to latex has increased significantly. It is crucial to recognize the cases in order to prevent and apply adequate treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of allergy to latex in meningomyelocele patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective evaluation of medical records of patients with meningomyelocele d...

Gloves play an important but sometimes overlooked role in woundcare. Latex allergy has led many woundcare practitioners to question the place of latex gloves in woundcare, and to look for alternative materials. This paper summarises the opinion of a group of European experts on the role of Natural Rubber Latex (NRL) in latex allergy.

Occupational exposure to various environmental factors usually produces serious health problems among the employees all over the world. Allergy is an important cause of work related i l lness. During 1980s and 90s allergy to Natural Rubber Latex(NRL),which contain a complex blend of water soluble plant proteinshas become a major source of concern in clinical science (1). Latex is ubiquitous in ...

Correct management of latex allergy is essential to ensure adequate care of patients who are allergic to latex, which is ubiquitous in the health care setting. In this Position Paper, the Latex Committee of the Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology provides guidelines for the management of latex allergy.

Allergies to certain fruits such as banana, avocado, chestnut and kiwi are described in 30-70% of latex-allergic patients. This association is attributed to the cross-reactivity between the major latex allergen hevein and hevein-like domains (HLDs) from fruit class I chitinases. We aimed to assess the extent of cross-reactivity between hevein and HLDs using sera from latex-allergic patients wit...