Outcome of prophylactic therapy for idiopathic anaphylaxis

Article Abstract:

Anaphylaxis is a potentially fatal clinical state, resulting from exposure to an allergen causing the release of biologically active substances by parts of the immune system. Anaphylaxis most commonly occurs in people previously sensitized to an antigen, such as a food, drug, or insect venom. Idiopathic anaphylaxis is when this reaction occurs without an identifiable allergen. Patients with frequent idiopathic anaphylaxis receive maintenance regimens of antihistamines, sympathomimetic agents, and steroids such as prednisone. Those whose episodes are infrequent are treated similarly when episodes occur. Fifty-three patients diagnosed with idiopathic anaphylaxis were classified as either having generalized anaphylaxis, with such symptoms as hives, wheezing and loss of consciousness, or anaphylaxis with angioedema (severe rash with intense itching and swelling) with upper airway obstruction from swelling of throat structures. The patients were then further categorized as experiencing anaphylaxis frequently or infrequently. All frequent sufferers were placed on maintenance antihistamines and prednisone, which was tapered extremely slowly and was not fully withdrawn in some cases. The group that suffered frequent anaphylaxis showed a statistically significant decrease in the number of episodes and the number of emergency room visits. Of the 53 participating patients, 24 were in remission at the conclusion of the study. Remission was defined as no episodes of anaphylaxis for more than a year without receiving steroid treatment. The data collected suggest that prednisone either induces remission or controls symptoms until remission occurs spontaneously. Seven of the patients studied appeared to be dependent on steroids to control their idiopathic anaphylaxis. Maintenance therapy with both steroids and antihistamines offers hope of decreased number of episodes and, in some cases, actual remission. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Diagnosis, Complications and side effects, Corticosteroids

---

Outcomes of pregnancy in adolescents with severe asthma

Article Abstract:

Asthma, a spasm of the bronchioles, small air passages in the lungs, results in difficulty expiring air from the lungs. Asthma is a complication of approximately one percent of all pregnancies, and is the most common chronic disease affecting adolescents. Despite the frequency of asthma as a complication of pregnancy, little is known about asthma in pregnant adolescents. The known effects of asthma on pregnancy include an increase in the number of infant deaths, delivery of premature infants, and newborns of low birth weight. A recent study has also shown that preventive treatment of asthma with oral and/or inhaled steroids can be safely used to avoid asthma attacks in pregnant women. During a ten-year period, 28 pregnancies were studied in 21 adolescents. All patients were given allergy tests, medications such as theophylline were prescribed, and in some cases epinephrine, a normal hormone, was administered by inhaler. For severe asthma attacks injections of epinephrine were used initially, followed by intravenous medication (aminophylline, theophylline and prednisone) and fluids for four to six hours. These patients then received theophylline and prednisone on an outpatient basis for up to one week following the attack. There were 42 exacerbations of asthma that required either emergency room care or hospitalization. Management of pregnant asthmatic adolescents may be difficult; however, in this group there were no maternal or fetal deaths, and there was no evidence of retarded fetal development. Only two infants were born prematurely. The aggressive use of brief therapy with systemic corticosteroids for severe exacerbations of asthma and the use of local inhaled corticosteroids may account in part for the better than expected outcomes in this study.

Research, Case studies, Evaluation, Asthma, Teenage pregnancy, Pregnancy, Complications of, Pregnancy complications

---

Idiopathic anaphylaxis: a clinical summary of 175 patients

Article Abstract:

Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening reaction which results from the release of substances from basophils, which are a type of white blood cell, or from mast cells, which play a role in allergic responses. The symptoms of anaphylaxis may include difficulty breathing, a violent cough, fever, rash, convulsions, and collapse, which can be fatal. Anaphylaxis may be allergic, as has been seen in food allergies and allergies to insect bites, or it may result from poorly understood reactions to aspirin, exercise, or contrast media (dyes) used in radiography. However, it is also possible to have idiopathic anaphylaxis, in which a precipitating substance or event cannot be identified. Care must be taken to rule out every possible explanation before a diagnosis of idiopathic anaphylaxis is made, particularly since the patient may suffer further contact with an allergen which was not identified by the physician. A diagnosis of idiopathic anaphylaxis also requires ruling out psychiatric causes, as similar reactions can be caused by anxiety syndromes. Curiously, idiopathic anaphylaxis is twice as common among women as it is among men. Despite the fact that idiopathic anaphylaxis is defined as having no apparent cause, it may nonetheless be effectively treated. The results of a study including 175 patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis are reported. It was determined that prophylactic (preventive) treatment with antihistamines and prednisone is appropriate for patients with frequent episodes, and contributes to reducing the number of emergency room visits and hospitalizations. With such treatment, a large proportion of patients can experience remission from this disorder. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Causes of, Antihistamines

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: Effect of iron chelation therapy on recovery from deep coma in children with cerebral malaria. Tumor necrosis factor and disease severity in children with falciparum malaria
• Abstracts: Cervical os obliteration after laser surgery in patients with amenorrhea. Treatment of pulmonary endometriosis with a long-acting GnRH agonist
• Abstracts: Ovulation and successful pregnancy in a woman with ovarian failure after hypophysectomy and gonadotropin therapy
• Abstracts: Identification of Treponema pallidum in amniotic fluid and fetal blood from pregnancies complicated by congenital syphilis
• Abstracts: Stress fractures of the legs and swelling of the ankles in a patient with lupus: a diagnostic dilemma. Behcet's disease in a patient with immunodeficiency virus infection

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.