Paper Wasp, Allergen IgE

Test Codes

EPIC: LAB1230754, Beaker: EPWasC, CHW: LAB1230754

Department

Send Outs

Instructions

Specimens for insect venom and drugs should be drawn at least 2-3 weeks but not longer than 6 months after exposure.

Specimen Collection Criteria

Collect: One Gold-top SST tube.

Physician Office/Draw Specimen Preparation

Let specimen clot for 30 minutes then centrifuge to separate serum from cells within 2 hours of collection. Transfer serum to plastic transport tube and maintain refrigerated at (2-8°C or 36-46) prior to transport.

Preparation for Courier Transport

Transport: 3.0 mL serum, refrigerated at (2-8°C or 36-46°F). (Minimum: 2.0 mL)

Rejection Criteria

Specimens not collected and processed as indicated.

In-Lab Processing

Let specimen clot for 30 minutes then centrifuge to separate serum from cells within 2 hours of collection. Transfer serum to plastic transport tube and maintain refrigerated at (2-8°C or 36-46) prior to transport.

Transport: 3.0 mL serum, refrigerated at (2-8°C or 36-46°F). (Minimum: 2.0 mL)

Storage

Specimen Stability for Testing:

Room Temperature (20-26°C or 68-78.8°F): 12 hours
Refrigerated (2-8°C or 36-46°F): 7 days
Frozen (-20°C/-4°F or below): Aliquot and freeze for longer than 7 days

Specimen Storage in Department Prior to Disposal: 30 days

Specimen retention time is determined by the policy of the reference laboratory. Contact the Send Outs Laboratory with any questions.

Laboratory

Sent to Corewell Health Reference Laboratory, Grand Rapids, MI.

Performed

Monday – Friday.
Results available in 1-3 days.

Reference Range

Test Methodology

Clinical Utility

All allergens are reported down to a cutoff level of 0.10 kU/L. The significance of allergen specific IgE levels between 0.10 and 0.35 kU/L remains undefined. Cumulative levels of multiple allergen specific IgE antibodies may have an additive effect in producing clinical symptoms.

 Individual allergen specific IgE antibody levels may not always correlate with severity of clinical symptoms. Results must be interpreted in the context of the clinical history and the patient’s symptom presentation. Quantitative IgE levels can serve to guide overall disease management by targeted trigger exposure reduction to identified allergens.

 IgE antibody levels to allergens less than 0.10 kU/L do not exclude the possibility of an anaphylactic reaction to the allergen involved, since in vitro assays are indicators of previous sensitization rather than predictors of future response. IgE antibody levels must be interpreted in the context of the clinical history of the patient and the reaction history involved.

Clinical Disease

In the United States it is estimated that one to two million people are severely allergic to stinging insect venom. Approximately 90 to 100 deaths occur annually from sting reactions. This number may under-represent the true total because some sting reactions are misdiagnosed as heart attacks, sunstroke, or other acute illnesses. More people die each year from the effects of insect venom than from spider or snake bites. One person in 100 who is stung by an insect can develop a fatal reaction.

Typically, an insect sting produces local redness and swelling that resolves in a few hours. Reactions in an allergic individual develop within a few minutes and are more severe than in normal patients. Symptoms of an allergic reaction include intense redness at the sting site, swelling spanning two joints, itching, and pain. A major allergic reaction includes focal swelling, itching, faintness, sweating, headache, stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, constrictive chest, difficulty breathing and swelling of the throat. Severe cases can lead to anaphylactic shock and death. Death can occur without a previous history of a sting allergy. The frequency of fatal reactions due to anaphylaxis also increases with age.

The primary allergens of vespid (Yellow Jacket, Hornet, and Wasp) venoms include antigen 5 (non-enzymatic protein), phospholipase A, and hyaluronidase. There are physiological and immunological differences between the honeybee and vespid venoms. However, IgE tests for these allergens do not cross-react.

Prophylactic measures must be taken for those individuals who develop severe reactions to insect stings. Specific immunotherapy (hyposensitization) remains the most effective means of treatment. Hyposensitization has a 96% success rate against insect stings.

Reference

1. Kaplan, Allen P. M.D. Allergy. Churchill Livingstone: New York, pg 508-509, 1985.

CPT Codes

86008

Contacts

Last Updated

4/1/2026