Pregnancy and Hymenoptera venom allergy.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

To evaluate the indication to perform venom immunotherapy (VIT) during pregnancy considering the risks of adverse events during the build-up phase or the maintenance phase and analyzing specific articles and guidelines on VIT.

RECENT FINDINGS

Only few studies treat this argument and literature only counts one recent study on the topic, whereas recent guidelines state the behavior to keep in pregnancy.

SUMMARY

Hymenoptera venom allergy (HVA) affects about 7.5% of the European population. VIT is the only effective disease-modifying treatment for patients presenting anaphylactic reactions. VIT counts several mechanisms of action, with the increase of IgG1 and IgG4 and a cytokine impairment inducing a Th2-Th1 shift. Pregnancy is a health condition where a Th2 profile is required to prevent fetal rejection, so VIT could be a problem for the fetus when started during pregnancy.