Decreased incidence of stings in venom-sensitive patients following venom immunotherapy.

Abstract

We re-questioned 23 patients from our Venom Referral Clinic after three or more years of venom immunotherapy to determine whether venom immunotherapy makes venom-sensitive patients less susceptible to future stings. They were asked the same questions regarding stings, including: The number of stings in the previous 2 years, insects involved, time spent out of doors per week, and avoidance techniques. The number of patients stung in the previous 2 years dropped from 87% to 30%. Furthermore, the mean number of stings in 2 years per subject was 1.30 compared to 2.26 prior to these patients receiving venom immunotherapy. The average number of hours spent out of doors for this group of patients increased from 16.7 hrs per week to 18.9 hrs per week. Therefore, these patients were stung less frequently despite spending somewhat more time out of doors. We conclude that the process of desensitization during venom immunotherapy makes venom-sensitive patients less susceptible to future stings.