Skip Navigation



Occupational Medicine Advance Access published online on June 24, 2007
Occupational Medicine, doi:10.1093/occmed/kqm054
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
57/8/602    most recent
kqm054v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pérez-Pimiento, A.
Right arrow Articles by García-Loria, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Pérez-Pimiento, A.
Right arrow Articles by García-Loria, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Short Report

Work-related anaphylaxis to wasp sting

Antonio Pérez-Pimiento, Luis Prieto-Lastra, Marta Rodríguez-Cabreros, Mar Reaño-Martos, Ángel García-Cubero and John García-Loria

Allergy, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, San Martin de Porres, 4, Madrid 28020, Spain

Objective To describe the frequency and epidemiological features of wasp venom allergy in the workplace.

Methods Retrospective review of 98 adult patients (age 18–65) who suffered an anaphylactic reaction to a wasp sting. Patients were asked about reactions during working hours. Personal history of atopy and previous wasp stings as well as the season, month and type of locality (urban or rural) at the moment of the sting were recorded. Serum-specific IgE levels to venoms from Vespula, Polistes and Apis were measured.

Results Eighteen patients (18%) suffered a reaction to wasp venom during working hours. The average age was 37.4 years, 89% were men and 94% had a personal history of atopy. All patients but one reported more than three previous stings, the last sting occurring at least 1 year previously in 61%. Previous systemic reactions had occurred in 17%. Gardening was the most frequently reported occupation (39%). Most reactions occurred during the summer season (61%) and took place in rural areas (56%). Serum-specific IgE was positive to Vespula in all patients, Polistes in 78%. In the 80 cases occurring outside of working hours, the mean age was 40.6, the male/female ratio was 35/45 and 23% of these patients were atopic.

Conclusion Most anaphylactic reactions were not work related. Gardeners were the most frequently involved workers. Workplace anaphylactic reactions showed higher prevalences of atopy (94%) compared to those outside working hours (22%).

Keywords      Anaphylaxis; hymenoptera venom allergy; occupational allergy

Correspondence to: Pérez-Pimiento Antonio, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Allergy, San Martin de Porres, 4, Madrid 28020, Spain. Tel: +34 913 445844; fax: +34 913 730535; e-mail: aperezpimiento{at}yahoo.es


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.