PMID- 35639558
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20220712
LR  - 20220726
IS  - 1471-8405 (Electronic)
IS  - 0962-7480 (Linking)
VI  - 72
IP  - 5
DP  - 2022 Jul 11
TI  - Evaluation of chlorhexidine sensitization amongst healthcare workers.
PG  - 343-346
LID - 10.1093/occmed/kqac038 [doi]
AB  - BACKGROUND: Chlorhexidine is an antiseptic widely used in healthcare settings. 
      There are increasing reports of significant hypersensitivity reactions associated 
      with its use. Development of chlorhexidine allergy has been identified as an 
      important occupational risk to healthcare workers (HCWs). AIMS: To evaluate the 
      prevalence of sensitization to chlorhexidine amongst HCWs at a large tertiary 
      hospital to assess the potential allergic safety risks associated with 
      chlorhexidine exposure to staff. METHODS: Sensitization to chlorhexidine was 
      evaluated by measurement of serum-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) in samples 
      collected from staff assessed after a sharps-injury incident and laboratory staff 
      collected for quality assurance procedures. This test method has been shown to 
      have high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of chlorhexidine allergy. 
      Prevalence of sensitization was additionally evaluated with reference to changes 
      in exposure to chlorhexidine-based hand hygiene products because of infection 
      control procedures and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. RESULTS: A total of 
      320 samples were examined. The prevalence of positive chlorhexidine-specific IgE 
      was 2%. Prevalence of sensitization in samples collected before and after 
      increased chlorhexidine exposure was 1% and 3%. This did not represent a 
      statistically significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence figures for 
      chlorhexidine sensitization in this study are higher than have been estimated 
      previously for similar HCW cohorts. Increased exposure to chlorhexidine-based 
      hand hygiene products was not demonstrated to increase sensitization in this 
      group. Given the risk of severe reactions in sensitized individuals, this study 
      indicates that evaluation of chlorhexidine allergy is important when 
      investigating occupational allergy in HCWs.
CI  - (c) The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the 
      Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please 
      email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
FAU - Anderson, J
AU  - Anderson J
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-7662-9935
AD  - ImmunoRheumatology Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology-North, Royal North Shore 
      Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
FAU - Fulton, R B
AU  - Fulton RB
AD  - ImmunoRheumatology Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology-North, Royal North Shore 
      Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
FAU - Li, J
AU  - Li J
AD  - Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Royal North Shore Hospital, 
      Sydney, Australia.
AD  - Sydney Medical School-Northern, The University of Sydney, Sydney 2065, Australia.
FAU - Cheng, I
AU  - Cheng I
AD  - Department of Workforce Health, Safety and Wellbeing, Royal North Shore Hospital, 
      Sydney, Australia.
FAU - Fernando, S L
AU  - Fernando SL
AD  - ImmunoRheumatology Laboratory, NSW Health Pathology-North, Royal North Shore 
      Hospital, Sydney, Australia.
AD  - Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Royal North Shore Hospital, 
      Sydney, Australia.
AD  - Sydney Medical School-Northern, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - England
TA  - Occup Med (Lond)
JT  - Occupational medicine (Oxford, England)
JID - 9205857
RN  - 37341-29-0 (Immunoglobulin E)
RN  - R4KO0DY52L (Chlorhexidine)
SB  - IM
MH  - *COVID-19
MH  - Chlorhexidine/adverse effects
MH  - *Drug Hypersensitivity/diagnosis/epidemiology
MH  - Health Personnel
MH  - Humans
MH  - Immunoglobulin E
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Allergy
OT  - IgE
OT  - chlorhexidine
OT  - healthcare workers
EDAT- 2022/06/01 06:00
MHDA- 2022/07/14 06:00
CRDT- 2022/05/31 16:02
PHST- 2022/06/01 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2022/07/14 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2022/05/31 16:02 [entrez]
AID - 6593214 [pii]
AID - 10.1093/occmed/kqac038 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Occup Med (Lond). 2022 Jul 11;72(5):343-346. doi: 10.1093/occmed/kqac038.