Medicines Are Biggest Culprit in Fatal Allergic Reactions: Study By Kathleen Doheny

HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Oct. 9, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Although food allergies have garnered a lot of attention lately, a new study reports that medications are actually the biggest cause of sudden deaths related to allergy.

Over a little more than a decade, nearly 60 percent of the allergy-related deaths were caused by medications, while less than 7 percent were caused by food allergies, the study found.

"Medications can be dangerous," said study researcher Dr. Elina Jerschow, director of the Drug Allergy Center at Montefiore Medical Center and assistant professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City.

While research from other countries has reported medications as a major culprit in anaphylaxis-related deaths, Jerschow said, the problem has been less defined in the United States. One reason is that there is no national registry for anaphylaxis deaths, she said.

The study was published online recently in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

In an allergic reaction, the immune system overreacts to an allergen, releasing chemicals that cause symptoms in one area of the body, such as hives or an itchy feeling in the mouth or throat, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI). In a serious reaction, known as anaphylaxis, the reaction affects more of the body and may include symptoms such as difficulty breathing, wheezing or throat swelling, the AAAAI reports.

Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening emergency, according to the AAAAI. An injection of a medication called epinephrine is needed to help reverse these symptoms, the AAAAI said.

The United States and Australia have some of the highest rate of severe anaphylaxis in countries that are developed, according to background information in the study.

For the new study, Jerschow's team analyzed death certificates from the U.S. National Mortality Data Base from 1999 to 2010. The researchers found almost 2,500 deaths related to anaphylaxis, and then tried to determine what caused the reaction.

The most common cause was medication, which was implicated in nearly 59 percent of the deaths. About 19 percent of death certificates did not specify a cause. Food accounted for just under 7 percent of deaths. Another 15 percent of deaths were due to venom from an insect bite or sting, according to the study.