Sensibilisatie en allergie voor natuurrubberlatex

Objective

To compare the prevalence of sensitization and allergy to natural rubber latex amongst Erasmus Medical Centre (MC) operating theatre employees before and 10 years after the introduction of powder-free latex gloves.

Design

Descriptive study.

Method

Employees working permanently in the operating theatre were evaluated in 1998 (n = 163) and in 2009 (n = 178) for sensitization and allergies to natural latex by means of questionnaires, serological analyses and skin testing. The prevalence of sensitization and allergies within these 2 groups was then established and compared.

Results

The two groups were comparable in terms of gender, smoking habits, job classification, work-related symptoms and the number of individuals who had atopy. In 2009, the prevalence of sensitization to latex was statistically significantly lower than in 1998 (4.5 vs. 14.1%). Allergy to latex was also established a statistically significantly fewer number of times in 2009 than in 1998 (2.8 vs. 9.8%). This same trend could be observed in the subgroup that participated both years (n = 49). Individuals with an atopic constitution had a statistically significant higher risk of developing hypersensitivity to natural latex; the risk of developing an allergy to latex was also higher, but not significantly.

Conclusion

After the study in 1998, the introduction of sterile, powder-free latex gloves very likely led to a decline in the prevalence of sensitization and allergy to natural latex in 2009.

Conflict of interest: none declared. Financial support: none declared.