Bee Venom Immunotherapy with Standardized Extract, Two Case Comunication and Clinical Progress

Background: Bee venom immunotherapy is a safe and effective treatment, indicated in patients with previous history of severe systemic reactions to bee venom, demonstrating succesful desensitization in more than 90% of cases with standardized extract. Currently in Mexico  there is no standardized extract commercially available for treatment, despite of having high activity of beekeeping and occupational exposure with at least 17,478 registered stings per year and an annually honey production of nearly 70 tons.

Methods: We present the clinical progress of two patients with history of severe systemic reactions to bee venom and occupational exposure, both with demonstrated sensitization by specific IgE and  who underwent specific immunotherapy with standardized extract (Alk-US) reaching a maintenance weekly dose of 100mcg (PLA₂) for the last 4 years.

Results: Both patients sufered of accidental stings after reached the maintenance dose  presenting mild local reactions to stings. Both patients had very different clinical course presenting a wide variety of adverse reactions during desensitization protocol; from mild local to generalized reactions all generally well tolerated allowing to reach the maintenance dose with succesfull desensitization proved by accidental exposure without severe systemic reactions. 

Conclusions: Bee venom specific immunotherapy with standardized extract is a well tolerated and efective treatment preventing the development of life threathening reactions in sensitized patients. It is important to promote the use and availability of standardized extract in developing countries with poor safety measures and high occupational exposure.