Latex hypersensitivity in children with spina bifida

This study was undertaken to survey a population of spina bifida patients to determine latex sensitivity. Three hundred children are followed in the spina bifida clinic at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. Of the 300 children followed in the spina bifida clinic of the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 107 patients ranging in age from 1 to 25 years were studied to date. Fifty-eight of the 107 (57%) patients had positive radioimmunoassays (RIA) for latex. Thirty-four had symptoms which suggested sensitivity to latex. Thirty-five of 53 (66%) patients with a history of frequent clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) with latex catheters were latex RIA positive. The average number of surgical procedures in the latex positive patients was 7: the average number in the latex negative patients was 5. All were fed with latex nipples and used latex pacifiers. Eighty-one patients had VP shunts. The percentage of atopic patients in this population did not differ from a normal population. Spina bifida patients have a high incidence of latex sensitivity, probably due to repeated exposure via multiple routes including repeated surgical procedures.