J Invest Allerg Clin
-
J Invest Allerg Clin · Jan 2013
Peripheral blood eosinophil counts predict the prognosis of drug eruptions.
Previous studies indicated that eosinophils infiltrate the skin during drug eruptions and that counts may become elevated in circulation. However, little is known about the role of eosinophils in the prognosis of patients with drug eruption. ⋯ Our data suggest that circulating eosinophil counts were positively correlated with the severity of the drug eruption. Therefore, corticosteroids may be needed to treat patients with eosinophilia in clinical practice.
-
J Invest Allerg Clin · Jan 2013
Multicenter Study Clinical TrialProspective, multicenter clinical trial to validate new products for skin tests in the diagnosis of allergy to penicillin.
Allergy to penicillin is the most commonly reported type of drug hypersensitivity. Diagnosis is currently confirmed using skin tests with benzylpenicillin reagents, ie, penicilloyl-polylysine (PPL) as the major determinant of benzylpenicillin and benzylpenicillin, benzylpenicilloate and benzylpenilloate as a minor determinant mixture (MDM). ⋯ The sensitivity of BP-OL and penilloate was 61%. Considering that amoxicillin was the culprit drug in 71% of reactions, these results indicate that most patients were allergic to the whole group of penicillins. These data support the use of benzylpenicillin determinants in the diagnosis of allergy to beta-lactams, even in predominantly amoxicillin-allergic populations.
-
J Invest Allerg Clin · Jan 2013
Costs associated with workdays lost and utilization of health care resources because of asthma in daily clinical practice in Spain.
Asthma is associated with high indirect costs due to lower work productivity and higher absenteeism and presenteeism. ⋯ Our findings could prove useful for physicians and health care providers.
-
J Invest Allerg Clin · Jan 2013
Skin test-positive immediate hypersensitivity reaction to iodinated contrast media: the role of controlled challenge testing.
Immediate hypersensitivity reactions (IHR) to iodinated contrast media (ICM) have traditionally been considered nonallergic; however, the increasingly frequent reporting of positive skin test and basophil activation test results suggests a specific allergic mechanism in some patients. Skin tests have been proposed as a useful tool for diagnosis, although their sensitivity and predictive values remain to be determined. The role of controlled challenge testing has not been assessed. ⋯ Skin tests are useful for the diagnostic workup in patients with an allergic IHR to ICM. Since ICM cannot be avoided in many patients because they are irreplaceable in some diagnostic or therapeutic techniques, an alternative safe ICM should be investigated for future procedures. We propose the use of controlled challenge tests based on skin test results to address this need in skin test-positive reactions in order to identify an alternative non-cross-reactive ICM.