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Estrogen and progesterone sensitivity and desensitization

Question:

3/7/2018
I was asked to consult on a is 12-year-old female that presented vaginal bleeding for 3 weeks. She was placed on high dose Ortho Tri-Cyclen taper. She had a negative pregnancy test and a normal TSH at that time. She was also prescribed Zofran to help with nausea associated with taking large amounts of OCP's. After her 3rd day of Ortho Tri-Cyclen and Zofran she developed facial swelling and throat closing and so presented to our ED. She remained alert and active. She had no cough wheezing or chest pain. She had no abdominal pain or vomiting. She had no urticaria only associated facial swelling. She has never had a known allergic reaction in the past. She did report feeling like her throat was tight and mildly closing. She had no stridor or wheezes. She had clear lung sounds and a soft benign abdominal exam. She was standing up in the room changing clothes on initial evaluation without difficulty. Secondary to her feeling of throat closing she was given 0.3 mg of IM epinephrine in the ED. She was also treated her with Benadryl and Zantac and prednisone. I was contacted by her Ob-Gyn to assist in desensitization to estrogen as she was placed on Medroxyprogesterone 10 mg after this episode and although had no reactions continued to have significant vaginal bleeding. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find any desensitization protocols for estrogen. My questions for her Ob-Gyn are as follows:

1. Are there any alternatives of a combined estrogen/progesterone pill that she might be able to use?
2. She likely needs skin testing first to progesterone (we stock) and also estrogen (I’ve seen 2 places to order in prior ask the expert questions) but most due to estrogen dermatitis not reported 'anaphylaxis'.
3. Almost exclusive data is on progesterone not estrogen in regards to steroid allergy and desensitization. I could find very few case reports of estrogen dermatitis and fewer (if any estrogen desensitization protocols) and most due to PMS, recurrent miscarriage, etc.
4. Would it be useful to do a patch test to a combination OCP with estrogen and then– if she tolerates that form – is that sufficient (knowing that is more for a delayed reaction).
5. She had no labs IgE/CBC or tryptase – indicating for sure IgE mediated reaction.
6. Is there a desensitization protocol for estrogen and would it be useful for this patient?

I appreciate you input on this patient.

Answer:

We sought the expertise of Dr. Castells to answer. See her response below.
The patient needs a diagnosis for her vaginal bleeding as the first step of her treatment: does she have endometriosis? Is surgery an option?

It is unclear if the reaction was to the OCPs or to Zofran. Was tryptase drawn at the time of the reaction?

In response to your questions:

1. Loestrin is a good BC which has been well tolerated in patients with estrogen and progesterone sensitivity
2. Skin testing is recommended for Zofran, progesterone and estrogen 4-6 weeks off her reaction
3. Estrogen hypersensitivity is rare and we have seen 3 cases
4. We have not used patch testing for the diagnosis and there is no literature
5. As indicated above she needed tryptase at the time of reaction and baseline
6. She can be desensitized to Loestrin which we have a published protocol (reference below) and will be happy to share.

Lupron may be indicated for a short time if the bleeding is life threatening and there is no clear diagnosis.

J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2016 Jul-Aug;4(4):723-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2016.03.003. Epub 2016 Apr 16.

Progestogen Hypersensitivity in 24 Cases: Diagnosis, Management, and Proposed Renaming and Classification.

Foer D1, Buchheit KM2, Gargiulo AR3, Lynch DM2, Castells M2, Wickner PG4

Patricia McNally, MD, FAAAAI