Severe allergy in a pregnant woman after vaginal examination with a latex glove.

Recently case reports about latex allergy were increased. We have experienced severe latex allergy in a pregnant women after vaginal examination with a latex glove. A 33-year-old woman, 38 weeks pregenant, was hospitalized for management of fetal IUGR. She underwent a vaginal examination with a latex glove and soon developed severe anaphylactic reactions. Although two hours later her condition had remarkably improved, regular uterine contractions appeared, and fetal cardiotocogram showed late decelerations. So emergency cesarean section was performed under the situation without using any latex products. She delivered a male infant weighing 2,227 g (-2.21 SD) at 38 weeks gestation. His Apgar score was 5 points at 1 min and 8 points at 5 min. The latex-specific IgE of this patient was high and IgE for banana, avocado and kiwi were also positive. These foods showed cross-reactions with latex, but she had no history of allergic reactions against these foods. She had a history of atopic reactions and of atopic dermatitis while working as a nurse at the ICU. It is thought that this patient was in the high-risk group. Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel