In March, 1992, the Association of Operating Room Nurses in cooperation with the Center for Disease Control conducted a survey of its members
at its annual meeting in order to determine indications of prevalence of latex allergy. Because operating room nurses and other health care workers
have repeated exposure to latex products, they may be at increased risk for localized or systemic reactions to latex.
Of 1,738 respondents, latex reactions were reported in over 30% of the nurses - 5.7% of these nurses reported a history of a reactive skin test to
latex protein. Nurses who repeated reactions to latex containing products were more likely than those without such reactions to have a history of
other allergies or to regular use of latex gloves. Reported symptoms include itching (75%), rash (56%), dermatitis (47%), hives (11%), facial
swelling (11%), wheezing (3%), shortness of breath (2%). (0.8%) respondents had been hospitalized for suspected reactions to latex.
The prevalence of latex sensitivity in this population is high. Even though localized reactions, such as contact dermatitis, are most common, severe systemic reactions to latex also occur.
These results are consistent with a recently completed study of Finnish health care workers. This screening study of 512 nurses and physicians revealed that 25% complained of some form of discomfort associated with the use of latex gloves.
