Ventricular shunts and the prevalence of sensitization and clinically relevant allergy to latex in patients with spina bifida

Patients with spina bifida represent the highest-risk group for developing hypersensitivity to latex. Recognized risk factors for these patients are repeated surgery and an atopic disposition. Our aim was to study the influence of a ventricular shunt as an independent risk factor. One hundred and sixty-one patients with spina bifida (median age 10 years) were investigated for the presence of a shunting device and the number, type and date of previous surgical interventions. Additionally, skin-prick tests and provocation tests were performed in order to classify sensitized and symptomatic latex-allergic individuals. Eighty-eight patients (54.7%) were sensitized; 55 (34.2%) were provocation-positive. Patients with a shunt system had undergone a significantly higher number of surgical procedures (p < 0.0001) and showed significantly higher levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-antibodies to latex (p < 0.0001) than patients without a shunting device. The total number of operations correlated significantly with the level of IgE-antibodies to latex in serum (p < 0.0001), whereas the number of shunt operations in patients with a ventricular shunt did not significantly correlate with the degree of sensitization, In conclusion, patients with spina bifida who have a ventricular shunt are at particularly high risk because they undergo a significantly higher number of operations than patients without a ventricular shunt. However, the ventricular shunt does not seem to be an independent risk factor. Furthermore, this study emphasizes that individuals at high risk, such as patients with spina bifida, should be handled latex-free from the very beginning of life.