Sebastian La Vieille

Anaphylaxis treated in a Canadian pediatric hospital: Incidence, clinical characteristics, triggers, and management

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ; and ENT and Allergy Associates, Hoboken, NJ. E-mail: ckeet1@jhmi.edu. Supported by National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases grant 1K23AI103187 (to C.A.K.) and the Eudowood fund. Disclosure of potential conflict of interest: R. A. Wood has consultancy arrangements with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, is employed by Johns Hopkins University, has received one or more grants from or has one or more grants pending with the National Institutes of Health, and has received royalties from UpToDate. The rest of the authors declare that they have no relevant conflicts of interest.

Rate, Triggers, Severity and Management of Anaphylaxis in Adults Treated in a Canadian Emergency Department

Background: The Cross-Canada Anaphylaxis Registry (C-CARE) assesses the triggers and management of anaphylaxis and identifies predictors of the development of severe allergic reactions and of epinephrine use. Here, we present data from an urban adult tertiary care emergency department (ED) in Montreal, Canada. Methods: Potential anaphylaxis cases were identified using ICD-10 codes related to anaphylaxis or allergic reactions. Putative cases underwent chart review to ensure they met anaphylaxis diagnostic criteria. Demographic, clinical and management data were collected. Multivariate logistic regressions were conducted to assess the effect of demographic characteristics, triggers, and comorbidities on severity and management of reactions. Results: Among 37,730 ED visits, 0.26% (95% CI 0.21, 0.32) fulfilled the definition of anaphylaxis. Food was the suspected trigger in almost 60% of cases. Epinephrine was not administered in almost half of moderate-to-severe cases, and similar numbers of individuals with moderate-to-severe reactions were not prescribed an epinephrine autoinjector. Reaction to shellfish was associated with more severe reactions (OR 13.9; 95% CI 2.2, 89.4). Older individuals and those not receiving steroids were more likely managed without epinephrine (OR 1.04; 95% CI 1.01, 1.07 and OR 2.97; 95% CI 1.05, 8.39, respectively). Conclusions: Anaphylaxis accounted for a substantial number of ED visits in adults, and the most common trigger was food. There is non-adherence to guidelines recommending epinephrine use for all cases of anaphylaxis. We postulate that this may be related to concerns regarding the side effects of epinephrine in adults.

Eczema in early childhood, sociodemographic factors and lifestyle habits are associated with food allergy: a nested case-control study.

Background: Studies suggest an increase in food allergy prevalence over the last decade, but the contributing factors remain unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the most common food allergies and atopic history, sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle habits. Methods: We conducted a case-control study nested within the SPAACE study (Surveying Prevalence of Food Allergy in All Canadian Environments) - a cross-Canada, random telephone survey. Cases consisted of individuals with probable food allergy (self-report of convincing symptoms and/or physician diagnosis) to milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, shellfish, fish, wheat, soy, or sesame. Controls consisted of nonallergic individuals, matched for age. Cases and controls were queried on personal and family history of atopy, sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle habits. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between atopy, sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle habits with probable food allergy. Results: Between September 2010 and September 2011, 480 cases and 4,950 controls completed the questionnaire. For all 9 allergens, factors associated with a higher risk of probable allergy were as follows: (1) personal history of eczema (in the first 2 years of life), asthma or hay fever (odds ratio, OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.6-3.5; OR 2.8, 95% CI 2.2-3.6, and OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.8-3.0, respectively), (2) maternal, paternal or siblings food allergy (OR 3.7, 95% CI 2.5-5.6; OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.8-5.1, and OR 3.1, 95% CI 2.2-4.2), (3) high household income (top 20%; OR 1.5, 95% CI 1.2-2.0). Males and older individuals were less likely to have food allergy (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6-0.9, and OR 0.99, 95% CI 0.99-1.00). Eczema in the first 2 years of life was the strongest risk factor for egg, peanut, tree nut and fish allergy. Conclusions: This is the largest population-based nested case-control study exploring factors associated with food allergies. Our results reveal that, in addition to previously reported factors, eczema in the first 2 years of life is consistently associated with food allergies.

Anaphylaxis Cases Presenting To Primary Care Paramedics In Quebec

Data on anaphylaxis cases in pre‐hospital settings is limited. As part of the Cross Canada Anaphylaxis Registry (C‐CARE), we assessed anaphylaxis cases managed by paramedics in Outaouais, Quebec. A software program was developed to prospectively record demographic and clinical characteristics as well as management of cases meeting the definition of the anaphylaxis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were compared to assess factors associated with severity of reactions and epinephrine use. Among 33,788 ambulance calls of which 23,486 required transport, 104 anaphylaxis cases were identified (anaphylaxis rate of 0.31% [95%CI, 0.25%, 0.37%] among all ambulance calls and 0.44% [95%CI, 0.36%, 0.54%] among those requiring transport). The median age was 46.8 years and 41.3% were males. The common triggers included food (32.7% [95%CI, 24.0%, 42.7%]), drugs (24.0% [16.4%, 33.6%]), and venom (17.3% [10.8%, 26.2%]). Among all reactions, 37.5% (95%CI, 28.4%, 47.6%) were severe. Epinephrine was not administered in 35.6% (95%CI, 26.6%, 45.6%) of all cases. Males were more likely to have severe reactions (Odds ratio [OR]: 2.50 [95%CI, 1.03, 6.01]). Venom‐induced reactions and severe anaphylaxis were more likely to be managed with epinephrine (OR: 6.9 [95%CI, 1.3, 35.3] and 4.2 [95%CI, 1.5, 12.0], respectively). This is the first prospective study evaluating anaphylaxis managed by paramedics. Anaphylaxis accounts for a substantial proportion of the cases managed by paramedics in Outaouais, Quebec and exceeds prior reports of the proportion of Quebec emergency room visits attributed to anaphylaxis. Although guidelines recommend prompt use of epinephrine for all cases of anaphylaxis, more than a third of cases did not receive epinephrine. It is crucial to develop educational programs targeting paramedics to promote the use of epinephrine in all cases of anaphylaxis regardless of the specific trigger.