Lethal food allergy in children.

Abstract

Food allergy occurs in up to 8 percent of children,1 but anaphylaxis occurs in only a few. There are no reliable data on the incidence, prevalence, or mortality rates for food-induced anaphylaxis in either children or adults. Fatalities receive transient attention in the local press, particularly when a child is involved, but few case series of food-induced anaphylaxis have been described in medical journals.2 , 3 The descriptive study by Sampson and colleagues4 in this issue of the Journal attempts to characterize food-induced anaphylaxis in children and adolescents. Six fatal and 7 near-fatal cases were identified in a 14-month period; 12 of . . .