Desensitization Protocol for Rituximab-Induced Serum Sickness

Rituximab, a chimeric anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, is used to treat rheumatologic and hematologic diseases. Serum sickness, a Type III delayed hypersensitivity reaction, has been reported with rituximab treatment. Traditionally, drug desensitization has been used to treat Type I IgE-mediated hypersensitivity reactions. We report the first case of successful drug desensitization to rituximab in a patient with medication-induced serum sickness. In our case, a 37-year-old woman with Sjogren’s syndrome and papillary thyroid carcinoma developed serum sickness 72 hours following rituximab infusion for gastric mucosal associated lymphoma tissue (MALT). Her MALT progressed after stopping rituximab. She underwent a rapid 12-step intravenous rituximab desensitization without recurrence of serum sickness. Following the completion of 4 rituximab desensitizations, she had gastric MALT remission. She received 25 maintenance rituximab doses using this desensitization protocol quarterly without complications. This is the first report documenting rituximab desensitization for the treatment of delayed drug reactions like serum sickness.