Outcomes of drug provocation tests in Korean children with suspected drug hypersensitivity reaction

PURPOSE: Drug provocation tests (DPT) are the gold standard for confirming the diagnosis of drug hypersensitivity reactions (DHRs). However, there are little studies of DPT in children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate DPT results and safety as diagnostic methods of DHR in Korean children. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 39 children under 18 years of age with a suspected DHR and performed DPT between January 2010 and May 2016 at Asan Medical Center. RESULTS: Total 110 DPT were performed in 39 children (20 boys and 19 girls) with a history of DHR. Clinical presentation of DHR included skin rash (n=7), pruritus (n=3), urticaria (n=18), angioedema (n=19), dyspnea (n=5), hoarseness (n=1), hypothermia (n=1), and anaphylaxis (n=5). The median age at the time of DPT was 9 years. Positive DPT were observed in 21 of 39 children (53.8%) and 28 of 110 cases (25.5%). Drugs causing positive reactions were acetaminophen in 50% (9 of 18), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in 29.2% (14 of 48), cephalosporin in 9.1% (1 of 11), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole in 50% (1 of 2), local anesthetics in 10% (1 of 10), and others (levodropropizine and idursulfase) in 15.4% (2 of 13). There was no statistical difference between children who had positive and negative results in sex, age, personal and parental history of allergic disease, eosinophil count, or total IgE level. Children with positive DPT did not develop anaphylaxis during the DPT procedure. CONCLUSION: Drug provocation test is safe, and it can be considered in children with suspected DHRs.

Hypersensitivity reaction to aspirin accompanied by severe eosinophilia in a child with history of Kawasaki disease

Drug hypersensitivity is one of drug adverse reactions that develop in susceptible patients following exposure to certain drugs and cannot be predicted from the known pharmacology of a drug. Severe hypersensitivity is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Although the issue of hypersensitivity to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has been largely investigated in adults, data related to NSAIDs hypersensitivity is insufficient in childhood. And in spite of the recommendation to avoid use of aspirin due to Reye syndrome in children, aspirin is one of major treatment along with intravenous immunoglobulin in Kawasaki disease. We report a case of a 10-month-old boy who underwent intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin treatment for Kawasaki disease, and subsequently revealed severe leukocytosis and eosinophilia. To our knowledge, there have been no previous reports of aspirin-induced eosinophilia in Korea.

Stevens-Johnson Syndrome Induced by Carbamazepine Treatment in a Patient Who Previously Had Carbamazepine Induced Pruritus: A Case Report

Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) is a rare but life-threatening skin reaction disease and carbamazepine is one of its most common causes. We report a case of SJS secondary to carbamazepine in a patient with previous pruritus due to carbamazepine which was given for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. We would like to caution all providers that carbamazepine readministration should be avoided in the patient with a previous history of SJS or adverse skin reaction. In addition, we strongly recommend gradual titration when initiating treatment with carbamazepine.

Protocolo de farmacovigilancia a reacciones de hipersensibilidad a medicamentos: resultados de su aplicación en 5 centros de Santiago / Pharmacovigilance protocol for cutaneous drug hypersentivity reactions in Santiago, Chile

Introducción: Las Reacciones de Hipersensibilidad Medicomentosa (RHM) son un motivo de consulta muy común en Dermatología. Con el objetivo de implementar la farmacovigilancia dentro de la Sociedad Chilena de Dermatología (SOCHIDERM) se creó un Protocolo paro la notificación de RHM de tipo muco-cutáneo. Objetivo: Validar una propuesta de Protocolo de Farmacovigilancia de RHM de tipo mucocutáneo de la SOCHIDERM paro el uso de dermatólogos y médicos de nuestro país. Resultados: En nuestro estudio, la frecuencia de RHM fue 0,3% -0,5% del total de consultas ambulatorias y 5,2% 17,2% de las interconsultas a Dermatología. Los patrones más frecuentes fueron el urticarial, morbiliforme y la reacción medicamentosa fija. Los fármacos imputados con mayor frecuencia fueron los analgésicos/antiinflamatorios, los fármacos con acción en el sistema nervioso central, los antibióticos y los antihipertensivos. Discusión: Es importante tener un Protocolo de Farmacovigilancia. Esto nos permitirá obtener datos a nivel nacional. El desafío a corto plazo paro farmacovigilancia en SOCHIDERM es lograr notificar las RHM de tipo muco-cutáneo graves o con compromiso vital, que sean atendidas por dermatólogos en nuestro país, a través del Protocolo de Farmacovigilancia SOCHIDERM.

Introduction: Drug Hypersensitivity Reactions (DHR) are a common cause of consultation in dermatology. In order to implement fharmacovigilance in the Chilean Society of Dermatology (SOCHIDERM), we created a protocol for the notification of mucocutaneous DHR. Objective: To validate a SOCHIDERM mucocutaneous DHR pharmacovigilance protocol for dermatologists and physicians in our country. Results: In our study. DHR accounted for 0.3-0.5 % of all outpatient consultations, and 5,2-17,2% of interconsultations in dermatology. The most frequent patterns were urticarial, morbilliform and fixed drug reaction. The drugs most frequently involved were analgesics/anti-inflammatory drugs with action in the central nervous system, antibiotics and antihypertensives. Discussion: It is important to have a Pharmacovigilance Protocol since it will allow to obtain nationwide data. The short-term challenge for the SOCHIDERM pharmacovigilance is to notify serious or life-threatening mucocutaneous DHR that have been seen by dermatologists in our country, through this Protocol.