Diagnosis of latex allergy: comparison of histamine release and flow cytometric analysis of basophil activation

From the large panel of allergens routinely employed in immuno-allergology, rubber latex has become one of the most important allergens, due to the increase in frequency of sensitized patients (ca. 3% of the general population and 10-15% of healthcare professionals) and the potential risk of latex sensitization. This allergen can induce various clinical reactions including life threatening anaphylactic shock. Since both skin tests and provocation tests can elicit systemic reactions, reliable in vitro tests are necessary. The sensitivity of the usual methods used for the direct determination of specific IgE ranges from 60-85%, low responders give false negative results. We therefore compared the results (for high and low responder allergic patients) obtained using histamine release from human basophils and a new cytometric method recently established in our laboratory.