Cause Of Anaphylaxis In Children Research Articles

A 4-month-old baby boy presenting with anaphylaxis to a banana: a case report

IntroductionFood allergy is the most common cause of anaphylaxis in children and recent studies suggest increased prevalence of both food allergy and anaphylaxis. Among foods, fruits are rarely implicated as the cause of anaphylaxis. Furthermore, anaphylaxis to fruit in the first months of life is rare. Although banana allergy has been well described in adults, there are only two case reports of anaphylaxis to banana in children.Case presentationA 4-month-old Hispanic baby boy with a history of eczema presented to our emergency room with vomiting, urticaria and cyanosis following first exposure to a banana. He improved with administration of intramuscular epinephrine. Skin prick tests showed positive results for both fresh banana (4mm wheal/15mm erythema) and banana extract (8mm wheal/20mm erythema).ConclusionsBanana is not considered a highly allergenic food. However, as food allergy becomes more common and solid foods are being introduced earlier in babies, banana may become an important allergen to consider in cases of babies presenting with anaphylaxis.

Predictors of childhood food allergy

Background Food allergy is a relatively common pediatric problem, affecting 5-8% of young children. Its occurrence is strongly associated with other atopies, and it is a main cause of anaphylaxis in children. The disease, like other atopies, appears to be familial. Genetic and environmental factors (e.g., diet in infancy, aeroallergens and geography) predispose to food allergy. Methods This a cross sectional study. To assess which characteristics were associated with food allergy, we conducted simple logistic regressions of each type of atopy with food allergy as the dependent variable. A p<0.05 was considered significant. In the data modeling, we did not assume any hierarchical effects of families and schools on the food allergy status of participating children. Therefore, logistic regression with fixed effects only was used in modeling the data. Stepwise multilogistic regression with forward entry was used to determine a subset of characteristics that predicts best the presence of food allergy within the target population. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical package (version 18). Results Three hundred ninety-seven children (205 female) were enrolled on the study. The mean (SD) age was 7.2 (1.1) years. Two hundred seventy-one (68.2%) were fed solely human milk, 122 (30.7%) were fed human milk supplemented with cow milk protein-based formulas. Significant associations were present between childhood food allergy and personal atopic dermatitis (p<0.001), asthma (p <0.001) and rhino-conjunctivitis (p<0.05). Significant associations present between childhood food allergy and an immediate family member with food allergy, asthma, atopic dermatitis, or rhino-conjunctivitis. The best predictors of food allergy were personal atopic dermatitis (p=0.000), personal asthma (p=0.000), father with atopic dermatitis (p=0.005) and father with rhino-conjunctivitis (p=0.012).

Intérêt de l’éducation thérapeutique dans l’allergie alimentaire chez l’enfant

Food allergy is the leading cause of anaphylaxis in children. The impaired quality of life that results is undeniable. For these reasons, food allergy should benefit from therapeutic education of the patient and his family. Management of food allergy should not be limited to medical diagnosis and simple information provided by the doctor. These measures must be complemented by acquisition of additional skills in order to avoid an occasionally fatal accident and to improve the patient's quality of life. These skills are acquired during a genuine medical procedure, which is therapeutic education.

Common Causes of Anaphylaxis in Children: The First Report of Anaphylaxis Registry in Iran

Background Anaphylaxis is an acute, systemic, and potentially fatal allergic reaction. Many things can cause anaphylaxis potentially but some agents are more common like some foods (milk, egg, soy, wheat, peanut, tree nut, shellfish, and fish), insect stings, medications, latex, and food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis. The goal of this study is to show the common causes of anaphylaxis among the children with anaphylaxis history who were referred to the Immunology, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute (IAARI) during a 4-year period (2005-2009).Methods and Materials During those 4 years, we registered all children (<14 years old) with a history of anaphylactic reaction. To prove the cause of anaphylaxis, we performed skin prick tests with suspected agents according to their history and measured specific IgE against them by the ImmunoCAP test. Recognition of common allergens was based on having a positive history for 1 allergen and positive skin prick test or specific IgE for that at the same time, or having positive results from both tests when the allergen was unclear. Idiopathic anaphylaxis was a reaction when any known allergen and positive tests were not obtained.Results One hundred ninety-three nonfatal anaphylactic attacks among 63 children were recognized. In total, the most current cause of anaphylaxis in children was food (89.7%). Milk (49.3%) and wheat (26.1%) were the most common. Other foods were egg (8.7%), nuts (2.8%), and spices (2.8%). Six children (8.7%) were sensitive to multiple food allergens like milk, egg, and wheat. Five (7.1%) of 63 patients had anaphylactic attack because of stinging. Wasp was the trigger in 3 (4.3%) of them and honeybee was the cause in 1 (1.4%). The last one was because of unknown hymenoptera. There were 2 idiopathic cases of all 63 patients.Conclusions Food allergens, especially milk and wheat, are the most common cause of anaphylaxis in children. Because anaphylaxis can be fatal, it is advisable to recognize its causes in different communities to prevent recurrent attacks.