title: [Retrospective study on the prevalence of latex allergic pathology in health personnel].
abstract: To evaluate the prevalence of latex sensitisation and latex-related symptoms, we performed a study on 837 hospital employees. All subjects were asked for medical and occupational history, and underwent Skin Prick Test (SPT) with latex and other airborne allergens. The results showed a prevalence of latex sensitisation of 6.1% and a prevalence of symptoms of 5.26%. The most frequent symptoms were oculorhinitis, dermatitis and asthma. The one-year retrospective evaluation showed, in a group of 767 hospital attendants selected by the whole population, an incidence of sensitisation of 0.26%; no new cases of latex-related symptomatology were observed. The improvement of symptoms was due to the reduction of the exposure to latex gloves. The results of the study confirm the importance of prevention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Medicina del Lavoro, Università degli Studi di Messina. germanod@imeuniv.unime.it
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fenga
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cacciola
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Guarneri
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Loreto
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Trimarchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D020315:Latex Hypersensitivity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies
vernacular_title: Studio retrospecttivo sulla prevalenza di patologia allergica da latice negli operatori sanitari.