Table 1.
Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients with drug-induced anaphylaxis
| Variable | Value | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| Mean age ± SD, years | 47.6 ± 20.1 | |
| Patients aged <18 years | 91 (7.7) | 6.3 – 9.3 |
| Females | 627 (52.7) | 49.8 – 55.5 |
| Triggersa | ||
| Antibiotics | 457 (38.4) | 36.2 – 43.8 |
| Radiocontrast agents | 141 (11.9) | 10.2 – 14.3 |
| TCM (injection) | 130 (10.9) | 9.4 – 13.2 |
| Chemotherapeutic drugs | 122 (10.3) | 8.8 – 12.4 |
| Biologics | 49 (4.1) | 3.0 – 5.4 |
| Anesthetics | 25 (2.1) | 1.3 – 3.0 |
| Plasma substitutes | 25 (2.1) | 1.3 – 3.0 |
| Parenteral nutrition | 20 (1.7) | 1.0 – 2.5 |
| Hormones | 16 (1.3) | 0.8 – 2.1 |
| NSAID | 11 (0.9) | 0.4 – 1.6 |
| Associationsb | 110 (9.3) | 7.8 – 11.5 |
| Othersc | 82 (6.9) | 5.6 – 8.8 |
| Organ system involvement | ||
| Mucocutaneous | 563 (47.4) | 44.6 – 50.5 |
| Respiratory | 659 (55.4) | 52.5 – 58.3 |
| Gastrointestinal tract | 372 (31.3) | 28.8 – 33.9 |
| Cardiovascular | 996 (83.8) | 81.3 – 85.8 |
| Central nervous system | 596 (50.1) | 47.4 – 53.1 |
| Origin | ||
| Inpatient | 1,128 (96.2) | 95.1 – 97.3 |
| Outpatient | 1 (0.1) | 0.0 – 0.3 |
| ED | 43 (3.67) | 2.6 – 5.0 |
| Outcome | ||
| ICU admission | 73 (6.1) | 4.9 – 7.8 |
| Death | 39 (3.3) | 2.3 – 4.3 |
Values are presented as numbers (%) unless otherwise stated. Data were available for 708 patients in the epinephrine group and 481 patients in the nonepinephrine group, and from 1,172 patients with a clearly reported occurrence setting (inpatient, outpatient, or ED).
Sorted by groups of drugs most frequently implicated in drug-induced anaphylaxis. The classification of culprit medications was based on a publication by Baldo and Pham [5].
Defined as cases in which more than one medication was suspected to cause the anaphylaxis, and these medications belonged to different pharmacotherapy classes.
Only the top 10 common culprit drugs are listed; detailed information on the Others category is presented in online supplementary Appendix 4. TCM, traditional Chinese medicine; NSAID, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; ICU, intensive care unit; ED, emergency department.