Ten Years' Experience Of Anaphylaxis In a Single University Hospital In Korea
Section snippets
Rationale
Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening condition that requires urgent medical care and subsequent prophylactic intervention to prevent its recurrence. This study was performed to investigate the causes and clinical features of disease in adult patients with anaphylaxis.
Methods
A retrospective medical chart review was performed on the patients who visited the outpatient clinic or inpatient ward of the adult allergy department, and diagnosed with anaphylaxis between Jan 2003 and Dec 2012 in a single tertiary university hospital in Korea.
Results
A total of 251 subjects with anaphylaxis were enrolled. Drug (53.8%) was the most common cause of anaphylaxis, followed by idiopathic (15.1%), food (12.0%), food-dependent exercise induced (10.4%), insect stings (5.2%), and exercise (3.6%). The clinical manifestations were cutaneous (98.4%), respiratory (69.3%), cardiovascular (61.4%), and gastrointestinal (34.7%), respectively. Gradual rise in the number of patients with anaphylaxis was noted during study time, and increased tendency of the
Conclusions
Drug was the most common cause of anaphylaxis in adult patients, and the number of drug-induced anaphylaxis has been increased gradually. Because half of the prescription for epinephrine auto-injector(s) did not filled and significant number of patients lost to follow-up, more comprehensive therapeutic and educational approaches will be required to prevent recurrent development of anaphylaxis.