Drug hypersensitivity reactions in Asia: regional issues and challenges

There are geographical, regional, and ethnic differences in the phenotypes and endotypes of patients with drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) in different parts of the world. In Asia, aspects of drug hypersensitivity of regional importance include IgE-mediated allergies and T-cell-mediated reactions, including severe cutaneous adverse reactions (SCARs), to beta-lactam antibiotics, antituberculous drugs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and radiocontrast agents. Delabeling of low-risk penicillin allergy using direct oral provocation tests without skin tests have been found to be useful where the drug plausibility of the index reaction is low. Genetic risk associations of relevance to Asia include human leucocyte antigen (HLA)-B*1502 with carbamazepine SCAR, and HLA-B*5801 with allopurinol SCAR in some Asian ethnic groups. There remains a lack of safe and accurate diagnostic tests for antituberculous drug allergy, other than relatively high-risk desensitization regimes to first-line antituberculous therapy. NSAID hypersensitivity is common among both adults and children in Asia, with regional differences in phenotype especially among adults. Low dose aspirin desensitization is an important therapeutic modality in individuals with cross-reactive NSAID hypersensitivity and coronary artery disease following percutaneous coronary intervention. Skin testing allows patients with radiocontrast media hypersensitivity to confirm the suspected agent and test for alternatives, especially when contrasted scans are needed for future monitoring of disease relapse or progression, especially cancers.

IgE-mediated allergy to proton pump inhibitors with both delayed and immediate onset

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Incidence of drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs) to PPIs has been rising, presumably because of their increased consumption. Most DHR are IgE-mediated, with half of the reactions being anaphylactic. We describe the case of a Caucasian 50-year-old female patient referred to our allergy department after 2 episodes of anaphylaxis. The allergy work-up distinguished PPI as a cause of delayed onset (14 hours) and immediate onset (45 minutes) IgE-mediated DHR.

Supporting the validation of the new allergic and hypersensitivity conditions section of the World Health Organization International Classification of Diseases-11

BACKGROUND: The new International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11 "Allergic and hypersensitivity conditions" section has been constructed as a result of a detailed and careful action plan based on scientific evidences for the necessity of changes and collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) ICD-11 revision governance. All the efforts are being acknowledged by the Joint Allergy Academies. OBJECTIVE: Considering the new classification model addressed to the allergic and hypersensitivity conditions and following the ICD WHO agenda, we believe it is the appropriate time to start supporting the validation process in collaboration with the WHO ICD governance. METHODS: We conducted a mapping of ICD-10 allergic and hypersensitivity conditions in the ICD-11 beta phase structure and categorized the conditions as fitting by "precoordination," "postcoordination," "indexed to the ICD-11 Foundation," "no code fit properly" or "no correspondence" in the ICD-11. RESULTS: From overall 125 ICD-10 entities spread in 6 chapters, 57.6% were able to be precoordinated, 4% postcoordinated, 12% indexed to the Foundation, 9.6% had no code fitting properly and 18.6% had no correspondence in the ICD-11 framework. CONCLUSION: We have been able to demonstrate that 83.2% of the ICD-10 allergic and hypersensitivity conditions could be captured by the current ICD-11 beta draft framework. We strongly believe that our findings constitute a key step forward for a softer transition of the ICD-10 allergic and hypersensitivity conditions to the ICD-11, supporting the WHO in this process as well as strengthening the visibility of the Allergy specialty and ensuring quality management of allergic patients.

New Allergic and Hypersensitivity Conditions Section in the International Classification of Diseases-11

Allergy and hypersensitivity, originally perceived as rare and secondary disorders, are one of the fastest growing conditions worldwide, but not adequately tracked in international information systems, such as the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). Having allergic and hypersensitivity conditions classification able to capture conditions in health international information systems in a realistic manner is crucial to the identification of potential problems, and in a wider system, can identify contextually specific service deficiencies and provide the impetus for changes. Since 2013, an international collaboration of Allergy Academies has spent tremendous efforts to have a better and updated classification of allergies in the forthcoming International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11 version, by providing scientific and technical evidences for the need for changes. The following bilateral discussions with the representatives of the ICD-11 revision, a simplification process was carried out. The new parented "Allergic and hypersensitivity conditions" section has been built under the "Disorders of the Immune System" chapter through the international collaboration of Allergy Academies and upon ICD WHO representatives support. The classification of allergic and hypersensitivity conditions has been updated through the ICD-11 revision and will allow the aggregation of reliable data to perform positive quality-improvements in health care systems worldwide.

Making allergic and hypersensitivity conditions visible in the International Classification of Diseases-11

Understanding that the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11 revision would be an opportunity to standardize the code definitions for all allergic and hypersensitivity conditions, an international collaboration of Allergy Academies, including first the World Allergy Organization, the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology and the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, has been coordinating tremendous efforts since 2013 to provide a better classification of these disorders in the new ICD-11. During this process, a strategic action plan has been constructed to keep bilateral dialog with representatives of the ICD revision by providing them scientific and technical evidences for the need of changes in the ICD framework. As a major achievement of this process, was the construction of the "allergic and hypersensitivity conditions" parented subchapter guided by the World Health Organization ICD representatives and further supported by three more regional allergy societies: the Latin American Society of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, and the Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology. Believing that the outcomes of all past and future actions will impact positively to the Allergy specialty, we expect for the full approval by the United Nations in 2017.