Pediatric Anaphylaxis: Etiology and Predictive Factors in an Emergency Setting

Abstract

Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic life-threatening condition that needs immediate treatment to prevent unfavorable outcomes. The present study revealed that the prevalence of anaphylaxis in children increased with age and the adolescent group has the most frequent anaphylaxis events. Food-induced anaphylaxis was the most common cause of anaphylaxis in pediatric population. This etiology revealed a significant correlation with a known history of food allergy in the study population, P = .029. Anaphylaxis from insect stings associated with cardiovascular symptoms, P < .001 and inclined to be severe. Univariate analysis showed predicted probability of severe anaphylaxis increased with age with an odds ratio of 1.1. This finding strengthens and supports the view that physicians should be aware of severe anaphylaxis reactions in older age group when there is a documented history of insect sting. The overall pediatric anaphylaxis patients in the study population had favorable outcomes. The authors recommended at least 24 hours hospital observation in order to observe biphasic reaction in pediatric anaphylaxis especially in adolescent age group.