title: Insect sting anaphylaxis in patients without detectable serum venom-specific IgE.
abstract: Following insect sting anaphylaxis, twenty-five patients of over 500 evaluated, did not have detectable serum venom-specific IgE. Twenty-two were evaluated within 1 year of the reaction, fifteen within 6 months. Anaphylaxis occurred in six patients after their first sting exposure. The clinical features of the sting reaction were typical of the reaction occurring in insect-allergic patients with serum venom-specific IgE. Eleven of the twenty-five patients had negative venom skin tests. These observations suggest that a non-IgE mechanism may be responsible for a minority of insect sting reactions.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000276:immunology*; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D001514:Bee Venoms / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007073:Immunoglobulin E / Q000032:analysis*; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000276:immunology*; D007428:Intradermal Tests; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011852:Radioallergosorbent Test
chemical_list: D001514:Bee Venoms; D007073:Immunoglobulin E