Approach to the patient with drug allergy.

Full Abstract

Drug allergies are adverse drug reactions mediated by the specific immune system. Despite characteristic signs (eg, skin rash) that raise awareness for possible drug allergies, they are great imitators of disease and may hide behind unexpected symptoms. No single standardized diagnostic test can confirm the immune-mediated mechanism or identify the causative drug; therefore, immune-mediated drug hypersensitivity reactions and their causative drugs must be recognized by the constellation of exposure, timing, and clinical features including the pattern of organ manifestation. Additional allergologic investigations (skin tests, in vitro tests, provocation tests) may provide help in identifying the possible eliciting drug.

Author information

Author/s: Schnyder, Benno (B);

Affiliation: Division of Allergology, Clinic for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology/Allergology, Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern 3010, Switzerland. benno.schnyder(-atsign-)insel.ch

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Review

Journal: Immunology and allergy clinics of North America (Immunol Allergy Clin North Am), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2009-Aug; vol 29 (issue 3) : pp 405-18

Dates: Created 2009/06/30; Completed 2009/10/22;

PMID: 19563988, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 10/22/2009, IMS Date: 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00)

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