Abstract
BackgroundThe European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology is in the process of developing its Guideline for Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis, and this systematic review is one of seven inter-linked evidence syntheses that are being undertaken in order to provide a state-of-the-art synopsis of the current evidence base in relation to epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis and clinical management and impact on quality of life, which will be used to inform clinical recommendations.The aims of this systematic review will be to understand and describe the epidemiology of anaphylaxis, i.e. frequency, risk factors and outcomes of anaphylaxis, and describe how these characteristics vary by person, place and time.MethodsA highly sensitive search strategy has been designed to retrieve all articles combining the concepts of anaphylaxis and epidemiology from electronic bibliographic databases.DiscussionThis review will aim to provide some estimates of the incidence and prevalence of anaphylaxis in Europe. The occurrence of anaphylaxis can have a profound effect on the quality of life of the sufferer and their family. Estimates of disease frequency will help us to ascertain the burden of anaphylaxis and provide useful comparators for management strategies.
Highlights
The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology is in the process of developing its Guideline for Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis, and this systematic review is one of seven inter-linked evidence syntheses that are being undertaken in order to provide a state-of-the-art synopsis of the current evidence base in relation to epidemiology, prevention, diagnosis and clinical management and impact on quality of life, which will be used to inform clinical recommendations
The most wellknown of these is the consensus clinical definition proposed by Sampson et al, which involved representatives of a number of international allergy organisations, including the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) [7]
Investigators may need to use less than ideal study designs, which further results in the possibility of generating biased estimates. Notwithstanding these inherent challenges, there is a need to improve our understanding of the epidemiology of anaphylaxis in order to inform deliberations on, amongst other things, the overall disease burden posed by the condition, obtain etiological insights, risk stratification and prognosis
Summary
The occurrence of anaphylaxis can have a profound effect on the quality of life of the sufferer and their family. Secondary analyses of routine sources of data have proved helpful in describing the epidemiology of anaphylaxis though the estimates generated would be considered more reliable if the data could be validated and linked across primary and secondary care sectors. Such validation work needs to be prioritized. AM, GR and MW contributed to further refinements of the protocol and revised it critically for important intellectual content in their capacity as guideline leads. AS led on the development of concepts used in this protocol and revised it critically for important intellectual content in his capacity as the methodology lead.
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