Table 3.
Allergens Causing Severe Allergic Reactions in Finland
| Allergen | Adults | Children | Examples of Specific Agents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foods | 148 | 131 | |
| Nuts/seeds | 38 | 21 | |
| Tree nuts | 21 | 10 | Hazel (n = 5), cashew (n = 3), walnut (n = 3), almond (n = 3; marzipan, n = 1), pistachio (n = 2) |
| Seeds | 12 | 3 | Sesame (n = 5; tahini, n = 3), pine (n = 3), flaxseed (n = 2), mustard |
| Peanut | 5 | 8 | Cooked peanut taken as beans |
| Fruit | 19 | 12 | Kiwi (n = 8), apple (n = 5), banana (n = 5), grape (n = 3), mango (n = 4), lychee, jackfruit, plum (n = 2), red currant |
| Vegetables | 11 | 5 | Celery (n = 5), carrot (n = 4), parsnip (n = 2), pea (n = 5), melon |
| Grains | 17 | 26 | Wheat (n = 32), buckwheat (n = 5), corn, oat, rye, barley |
| Milk | 7 | 31 | Cow milk (n = 36), goat milk (n = 2) |
| Egg | 1 | 23 | |
| Fish/shellfish | 14 | 9 | Tuna (high histamine; n = 5), perch, shrimp (n = 8), roe |
| Soy | 6 | 3 | Alpro soy drink (n = 4) |
| Other foods | 30 | 14 | Baked roll (n = 9), wine (n = 3), carmine red (n = 2), sweet (n = 2), yeast |
| Several foods | 111 | 1 | Milk-egg-wheat, a whole meal |
| Drugs | 120 | 16 | |
| Antibiotics | 35 | 5 | |
| Cephalosporin | 12 | 2 | Cefuroxime (n = 10), cefalexin (n = 2) |
| Penicillin | 11 | 1 | Phenoxymethyl penicillin (n = 9), filling agent macrogol (polyethylene glycol) |
| Other antibiotics | 12 | 2 | Amoxicillin (n = 5), macrolide (n = 4), fluoroquinolone (n = 2), trimethoprim (n = 2), tetracycline (n = 2), nitrofurantoin, chloramphenicol, metronidazole |
| Painkillers | 28 | 10 | |
| ASA | 8 | 1 | |
| Ibuprofen | 5 | 3 | Alone (n = 5) or with other drugs (n = 2) |
| Paracetamol | 2 | 1 | 1 in a combination product |
| Other pain killers | 11 | 2 | Diclofenac (n = 4), naproxen (n = 6), coxib (n = 3), mefenamic acid |
| General anesthetics | 25 | 0 | |
| Rocuronium | 17 | Alone (n = 14) or with other anesthetics (n = 3) | |
| Patent blue | 3 | ||
| Other anesthetics | 5 | Several (antibiotic, propofol, fentanyl), gelatin | |
| Local anesthetics | 10 | 0 | Lidocaine (vasovagal reaction), methylprednisolone of the product |
| Radiocontrast media | 9 | 0 | Iodobromide (n = 4), ioversol, ioxaglate, iomeprol (n = 2), iodixanol |
| Other drugs | 22 | 2 | Infliximab (n = 2), pollen product, insulin protamine, povidone, borophenylalanine, aurothiomalate, methylprednisolone (n = 3), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, reteplase, tetanus-diphtheria vaccine, antispasmodic, chlorhexidine |
| Allergen preparations | 46 | 18 | |
| SIT | 37 | 17 | |
| Timothy | 32 | 13 | Alone (n = 42) or with birch or grass mix |
| Other allergen | 5 | 4 | Birch (n = 6), cat (n = 2), dog, wasp |
| SPT | 9 | 1 | Egg, fish, penicillin, mould, carmine, chironomid, several allergens |
| Insects | 25 | 15 | |
| Wasp | 19 | 14 | |
| Other insects | 6 | 1 | Bee (n = 2), mosquito, chironomid, unknown (n = 2) |
| Other causes | 11 | 2 | Chemical, latex, viper bite, fragrance, algae, rabbit, plant, other (n = 5) |
| Not known | 4 | 2 | |
| All | 348 | 182 | In some cases, several causes were present |