Premium
Anaphylactic reactions to Hymenoptera stings in asthmatic patients *
Author(s) -
SETTIPANE G. A.,
CHAFEE F. H.,
KLEIN D. E.,
BOYD G. K.,
STURAM J. H.,
FREYE H. B.
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
clinical and experimental allergy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.462
H-Index - 154
eISSN - 1365-2222
pISSN - 0954-7894
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2222.1980.tb02149.x
Subject(s) - radioallergosorbent test , medicine , atopy , histamine , anaphylaxis , immunology , asthma , allergy , sting , population , hymenoptera , allergen , biology , botany , environmental health , engineering , aerospace engineering
Summary We evaluated 587 cases with generalized reactions to stings of Hymenoptera. Eighty of these patients and twenty‐eight normal controls had radioallergosorbent tests (RAST) to venoms of honey bee, yellow jacket, hornet, wasp and to phospholipase A. Those patients with systemic reactions had a significantly greater frequency of positive RAST than normal controls (51.3% vs. 7.1%, P < 0.001). The frequency of atopy (asthma/rhinitis) in these 587 cases was only 22% and resembled the expected frequency in a general population. Asthmatic patients did not have an increased risk of developing systemic reactions to Hymenoptera stings. However, those asthmatic patients with systemic reactions to Hymenoptera stings had a significantly more severe anaphylactic reaction to a sting than non‐asthmatics. These severe reactions were primarily manifested by acute dyspnoea, which appeared to represent a bronchospastic response to endogenous histamine release.