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. 2019 Oct;74(10):2016-2018.
doi: 10.1111/all.13817. Epub 2019 Jun 2.

Medical Algorithms: Diagnosis and treatment of Hymenoptera venom allergy

Gunter J Sturm  1   2 , Lisa Arzt-Gradwohl  1 , Eva-M Varga  3
Affiliations

Medical Algorithms: Diagnosis and treatment of Hymenoptera venom allergy

Gunter J Sturm et al. Allergy. 2019 Oct.

Abstract

Diagnosis of Hymenoptera venom allergy (HVA) is straightforward in the majority of patients, but can be challenging in double positive and test negative patients. Test results sometimes can be confusing as patients with high skin test reactivity and high specific IgE (sIgE) levels are not at risk for severe systemic sting reactions (SSR), and conversely, patients with weakly positive or even negative tests can experience severe SSR. Venom immunotherapy (VIT) is safe, highly effective, and recommended in patients with moderate to severe SSR and in patients with SSR confined to generalized skin symptoms if quality of life is impaired.

Keywords: allergy diagnosis; hymenoptera venom allergy; insect venom allergy; venom immunotherapy.

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References

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