More anaphylaxis emergencies

Tuesday, 07 September 2010 09:00

With rates of food allergy increasing in many countries, research has recently been conducted in the USA to determine whether there has been a corresponding increase in emergency department visits for food-induced anaphylaxis.

Review of medical records of 546 children who went to the Emergency Department of the Children’s Hospital, Boston, with food-related acute allergic reactions showed the number of visits nearly doubled over a six-year period. Cases meeting the criteria for anaphylaxis went from 78 at the beginning of 2001 to 207 by the end of 2006.

Researchers also reviewed patients’ sex, age, as well as whether the patients knew about their allergy and owned a self-injectable epinephrine device. There was no significant change in these parameters over the study period.

Reference: Rudders et al. 2010. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Vol 104(5) pp. 413-416. DOI: 10.1016/j.anai.2010.01.022.