Hospital da Luz Setúbal Immuno-allergology service applies an integrated approach in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases such as asthma, rhinitis, and allergic conjunctivitis, hives, atopic and contact dermatitis, food allergy and drug allergy, working in close articulation with other specialties. In this context, the Hospital has established for the first time, successfully, a protocol of desensitization to paclitaxel, a drug administered to patients with cancer. Desensitization is a highly differentiated procedure in clinical allergology, with the purpose to allow, in this case, that patients that develop an allergic reaction by hypersensitivity to the drug, may continue chemotherapy treatments in all safety. This intervention represents a significant advance in healthcare providing, since it enables to maintain the first line treatment, avoiding delays or therapeutic alterations that could impact the prognostic of the oncologic disease. This procedure is applied in controlled hospital environment, complying with strict protocols based on scientific evidence and ensuring high safety standards. Desensitization to chemotactic drugs involves a multidisciplinary team, integrating Immuno-allergology, Oncology, Nursing, Hospital Pharmacy, and specialized hospital support, to ensure continuous monitoring and an immediate response to any unexpected event. Hospital da Luz Setúbal thus reinforced its capacity to respond to complex and highly specialized clinical situations, offering the population of the region procedures until now only possible in Lisbon, within Hospital da Luz network. This progress reflects the commitment of Hospital da Luz Setúbal towards personalized medicine, clinical innovation, and patient-focused healthcare. In the photo above, João Ricardo Santos (pharmacist), Beatriz Ascensão (nurse), Maria Natália Alves (patient under treatment), João Rato (coordinator of the Oncology Service), and Filipa Matos Semedo (immuno-allergologist).
