Usefulness of basophil activation test for the diagnosis of IgE mediated hypersensitivity to tetanus toxoid vaccine.

A great number of vaccinated patients develop specific anti-tetanus toxoid IgE, but usually do not undergo any adverse effect. Most of the allergic reactions to tetanus toxoid vaccine usually present with unspecific symptoms of local inflammation. In the presence of severe reactions, and in a special way if the vaccine is provided together with other drugs, it is difficult to establish which is the harmful drug responsible for IgE-mediated adverse reaction. A patient with an anaphylactic reaction after the administration of Toxoid Tetanic (TT) along with several drugs is described. All skin test were negative. The basophils activation test (BAT) in a clear way, identified TT as the allergen that triggered anaphylaxis. The results achieved demonstrates the usefulness of BAT to clarify patients with hypersensibility to tetanus toxoide when the clinic is severe and the vaccine has been administered together with other drugs.