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Copyright of Cahiers Santé - Médecine Thérapeutique is the property of John Libbey Eurotext Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: Anaphylactoid reactions to iodine contrast media are rare but serious, possibly life-threatening and calling an appropriate and urgent care. The physiopathological mechanism of these reactions remains to be fully elucidated. This reaction is still mostly called “pseudoallergic” in the literature. However, recent papers emphasise that a true allergic process is more frequent than previously expected. They also insist on the interest of running allergy tests including skin testing. We report the case of an anaphylactic shock to iodine contrast media, occurring during coronary angiography. We performed an allergy check-up and found the culprit allergen. We also evidenced a cross-reaction to another contrast media from the similar group. On the other hand, there was no reaction to contrast media of other types. With these results, another coronary angiography could be performed without any adverse event. When hypersensitivity reactions to iodine contrast media occur, it is mandatory to perform a complete allergy check-up. This will help determine the precise mechanism of the reaction and find the culprit allergen. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is by definition a chronic pruritic skin disease characterised by a history of flares and remissions. Genetic studies have recently demonstrated a link of causality between an impaired permeability barrier defect and both AD and mucosal allergic disorders, putting the skin stratum corneum at the centre of the pathophysiology of these disorders. The respective importance of flare factors is difficult to sort out in published papers. Some of them, such as temperature, irritants and aeroallergens have a demonstrated impact on the permeability barrier anomaly, based on epidemiological or experimental evidence. However, a better methodology and terminology are needed to identify the most significant flare factors and promote an efficient prevention. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Recently, a cross reactivity between cypress pollens and peach has been published. In this paper, we have tried to confirm this possibility in 33 patients suffering from cypress pollen allergy. The analysis of the collected patients data lead to the following classification of them into two groups: nine patients (27.3%) had a sensitivity to peach (four patients were allergic to peach and five patients were only sensitised to this fruit but could eat it without experiencing any symptoms), the second group of 24 patients were allergic to cypress pollens, but not sensitive to peach. These results clearly confirm that the cypress-peach syndrome exists together with the apple-birch syndrome. Other analysis on these patients will enable to characterise the cross-reacting allergens. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Copyright of European Review of Applied Psychology is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, special consideration will be given to the following points:

HIV-infected patients are at greater risk for drug hypersensitivity than non-HIV-infected patients. Sulfonamides and anti-retroviral drugs are most often the responsible agents. We detail in this paper our 5-year experience with this problem. Ninety-three HIV-positive patients with a clear history of hypersensitivity to cotrimoxazole, nevirapine, nelfinavir or efavirenz were included in a tolerance-induction protocol. The clinical manifestations were as follows: 68 patients had had pruriginous maculo-papular eruptions including 17 with fever and 12 with other symptoms (conjunctivitis, asthenia, digestive symptoms, etc). Fourteen patients presented with urticaria, with fever in 4 of them. Twelve doses of the responsible drug, prepared the day of the challenge, were given orally at 30-minute intervals. We were successful in 90% of the cases. Therefore, tolerance induction may be an alternative for such patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: It''s obvious that epinephrine should not be used for the treatment of generalized urticaria without hemodynamic perturbations. However, the purpose of this discussion is to defend epinephrine prescription (and not necessarily it''s administration) as possible first aid treatment in a very precise situation, which concern children with a history of generalized urticaria due to confirmed food allergy. This position was defined, after careful examination of scientific evidences in the literature, by the French “tripartite commission” and published under the title “Conditions to establish a project for individualized management at school of children at risk for food allergy emergencies” in 2003 in this journal. This paper resume the main points supporting this statement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]