Clinical and quality of life assessment in patients with latex allergy during COVID-19 pandemic: Possible protective role of continuous latex immunotherapy

ABSTRACT

Background: During Covid-19 pandemic, the massive use of Personal Protective Equipment could provoke severe adverse reactions in latex allergy patients and could negatively affect their quality of life. Method(s) The observational single-centre present study was carried out on 67 adult subjects with a latex allergy diagnosis followed by Allergy Unit of Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS of Rome. All data were collected from January 2020 to December 2020. All patients underwent to a survey focused on their clinical and psychological conditions during Covid-19 pandemic. For the evaluation of the degree of well-being, we used SF-36 questionnaire (Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey). The aim of our study is (a) to evaluate the incidence of allergic reactions in patients with latex allergy during the SARS-CoV- 2 pandemic;(b) to evaluate the protective role of continuous latex ITS during this period;(c) to evaluate quality of life of natural rubber latex allergy (NRLA) patients during the pandemic. Result(s) 67 patients (9 males and 58 females, mean age of 45.9 +/- 11.4 years) suffered from latex allergy were included in the present study. We recorded among our patients 13 cases (34.2%) of urticarial/ angioedema (U/A), 9 cases (23.6%) of respiratory symptoms (RS;dyspnoea, shortness of breath, wheezing) and 7 cases (18.4%) of anaphylaxis. In patients undergone continuous ITS, we observed less cases of U/A (p < 0.001), RS (p < 0.001), anaphylaxis (p = 0.003), hospitalizations (p = 0.014) and a lower therapy administration. We compared the results of SF-36 questionnaire in patients undergone continuous and not continuous latex ITS with a significance differences score between these two groups. Conclusion(s) The pandemic challenged the capacity of healthcare systems to provide adequate management of NRLA patients and in this context, we performed a survey to monitor their health status. During the pandemic, the risk of latex exposure was significant increased considering the possibility of direct skin contact, airborne exposure, contamination of food and medical evaluations. Our study is the first that investigated the clinical and quality of life effects of Covid-19 pandemia in NRLA patients demonstrating the importance of SLIT adherence also in this complex period. (Table Presented).