Contact urticaria and anaphylaxis to natural latex.

Immediate allergic reaction to natural latex of Hevea brasiliensis has been well documented. We report 17 cases, all in women. Twelve had an anaphylactic reaction during surgery and five had contact urticaria. Reactions to prick tests done through a washed surgical glove and with natural latex were positive in 15 of 17 patients and in 16 of 16 patients, respectively; specific IgE was found in 12 of 17 patients. In 206 control subjects, results of a prick test through a surgical glove were negative.