Prevalence of sensitivity signals to latex in meningomyelocele patients undergoing multiple surgical procedures.

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 diagnosis from January 2002 to December 2007 was conducted. Patients were grouped into allergics and non-allergics. The comparison of groups for gender was made by the Chi-Squared test, the Student's t test was used to compare age, and Mann-Whitney test was used to compare groups for clinical manifestations of allergy, number of procedures under anesthesia, hospital admissions and vesical catheterizations. RESULTS The mean number of procedures under anesthesia was 7 in the group with allergy and 4 in the group without allergy; this difference was statistically significant (p=0.028). The mean number of hospital admissions was 4.5 in the group with allergy and 3.4 in group without allergy and mean vesical catheterization was 24.5 in allergic patients and 21.7 in non allergic ones. CONCLUSIONS Meningomyelocele patients undergoing multiple procedures under anesthesia have high risk of developing clinical signals of allergy to latex. It is necessary that patients with meningomyelocele diagnosis should undergo exclusively latex-free procedures, avoiding high risk of sensitization and its complications. Specific tests to evaluate sensitization, genetic markers and latex-fruit relationship may contribute to a better understanding of risk factors related to allergy to latex and ways to prevent it.