Healthcare provision for insect venom allergy patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Margitta Worm; Barbara Ballmer-Weber; Randolf Brehler; Mandy Cuevas; Anna Gschwend; Karin Hartmann; Thomas Hawranek; Wolfram Hötzenecker; Bernhard Homey; Thilo Jakob; Natalija Novak; Julia Pickert; Joachim Saloga; Knut Schäkel; Axel Trautmann; Regina Treudler; Bettina Wedi; Gunter Sturm; Franziska Rueff

doi:10.1007/s40629-020-00157-z

Healthcare provision for insect venom allergy patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

Allergo J Int. 2020;29(8):257-261. doi: 10.1007/s40629-020-00157-z. Epub 2020 Dec 8.

Authors

Margitta Worm^{1

2}, Barbara Ballmer-Weber³, Randolf Brehler⁴, Mandy Cuevas⁵, Anna Gschwend⁶, Karin Hartmann⁷, Thomas Hawranek⁸, Wolfram Hötzenecker⁹, Bernhard Homey¹⁰, Thilo Jakob¹¹, Natalija Novak¹², Julia Pickert¹³, Joachim Saloga¹⁴, Knut Schäkel¹⁵, Axel Trautmann¹⁶, Regina Treudler¹⁷, Bettina Wedi¹⁸, Gunter Sturm¹⁹, Franziska Rueff²⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Charité-University Hospital Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
² Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Dermatology, Venereology, and Allergology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
³ Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, Cantonal Hospital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Münster, Münster, Germany.
⁵ Department and Outpatient Clinic for Otorhinolaryngology, Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
⁶ Outpatient Clinic, University Department of Rheumatology, Immunology and Allergology, University Hospital Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
⁷ Allergology and Dermatology, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
⁸ University Department for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, Paracelsus Private Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.
⁹ Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Kepler University Hospital GmbH, Linz, Austria.
¹⁰ Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
¹¹ Deptartment of Dermatology and Allergy, University Medical Center Gießen (UKGM), Justus Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany.
¹² Department and Outpatient Clinic for Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
¹³ Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital Gießen and Marburg GmbH, Philipps University Marburg, Marburg, Germany.
¹⁴ Department and Outpatient Clinic for Dermatology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
¹⁵ Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
¹⁶ Department and Outpatient Clinic for Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.
¹⁷ Department and Outpatient Clinic for Dermatology, Venereology and Allergology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
¹⁸ Department of Dermatology, Allergology and Venereology, Hannover Medical University, Hannover, Germany.
¹⁹ University Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
²⁰ Department and Outpatient Clinic for Dermatology and Allergology, University Hospital Munich, Munich, Germany.

Abstract

The population prevalence of insect venom allergy ranges between 3-5%, and it can lead to potentially life-threatening allergic reactions. Patients who have experienced a systemic allergic reaction following an insect sting should be referred to an allergy specialist for diagnosis and treatment. Due to the widespread reduction in outpatient and inpatient care capacities in recent months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the various allergy specialized centers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland have taken different measures to ensure that patients with insect venom allergy will continue to receive optimal allergy care. A recent data analysis from the various centers revealed that there has been a major reduction in newly initiated insect venom immunotherapy (a 48.5% decline from March-June 2019 compared to March-June 2020: data from various centers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland). The present article proposes defined organizational measures (e.g., telephone and video appointments, rearranging waiting areas and implementing hygiene measures and social distancing rules at stable patient numbers) and medical measures (collaboration with practice-based physicians with regard to primary diagnostics, rapid COVID-19 testing, continuing already-initiated insect venom immunotherapy in the outpatient setting by making use of the maximal permitted injection intervals, prompt initiation of insect venom immunotherapy during the summer season, and, where necessary, using outpatient regimens particularly out of season) for the care of insect venom allergy patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Allergy; Immunotherapy; Lockdown; SARS-Co-2; Venom.

Publication types

Review