Basal serum tryptase level correlates with severity of hymenoptera sting and age.
BACKGROUND
Increased serum tryptase has been linked to the severity of the reaction after Hymenoptera stings. The aim of the study was to measure basal tryptase levels in patients with Hymenoptera venom allergy and investigate the possible correlation between these levels and the severity of sting reaction.


METHODS
One hundred nine patients were included in the study. Sixty-three were wasp venom-allergic and 46 were honey bee venom-allergic. Basal serum tryptase levels were measured by UniCAP.


RESULTS
Basal serum tryptase levels were elevated in 12 (11%) of the 109 patients. Levels were 5.14 pg/L (3.62-5.84), 5.3 microg/L (2.94-6.54), 5.18 microg/L (3.71-6.25), and 6.98 microg/L (4.78-12.6), for patients with sting reactions of grade I, II, III and IV (as classified by Mueller), respectively. Basal serum tryptase levels correlated significantly with the sting reaction severity (r = 0.2752; P = .004) and with age (r = 0.2906; P = .002). Sting reaction severity also correlated with age (r = 0.3654; P = .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Basal serum tryptase levels were found to be elevated in 11% of venom allergic patients and correlated significantly with both sting reaction severity and age.
Kucharewicz
I
I
Department of Allergology and Internal Medicine, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland. ikuchar@poczta.onet.pl
Bodzenta-Lukaszyk
A
A
Szymanski
W
W
Mroczko
B
B
Szmitkowski
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000276:immunology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006969:Hypersensitivity, Immediate / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D007299:Insect Bites and Stings / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012882:Skin Tests; D053802:Tryptases / Q000097:blood*; D014863:Wasps / Q000276:immunology*
D053802:Tryptases