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Background: Despite drug-related hypersensitivity reactions are an important health problem, epidemiologic data on drug allergy and hypersensitivity are limited, and studies including diagnostic work-up are scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the actual frequency of immediate type drug hypersensitivity using diagnostic tests in school children with parent-reported drug allergies., Methods: This study involved three phases. The first phase is a survey of children with a mean age of 12.9 yrs attending grades 6-8 of primary schools with a questionnaire asking drug-related symptoms within 2 h of ingestion. The total population of sixth to eight grade school children was 210,000, and a sample size of 9096 was deemed to be representative of Ankara [(p) = 1.0%, α < 0.05, β = 0.8, (d) = 0.2.] During the second phase, a detailed clinical history was obtained by phone from the parents of children who had positive parent-reported drug allergy. The final stage of the study consisted of a detailed diagnostic work-up of children with a clinical history consistent with immediate type drug hypersensitivity reaction., Results: Overall, 11,233 questionnaires were distributed, 10,096 of which were retrieved after completion by parents. The rate of parent-reported immediate type drug hypersensitivity was 7.87% (792 children). However, phone survey revealed a clinical history suggestive of drug allergy in only 117 children (1.16%). After further diagnostic work-up, the true frequency of immediate type drug hypersensitivity was 0.11%., Conclusion: Our results suggest that a positive clinical history is not enough to make a diagnosis of drug allergy, which highlights the significance of undertaking further diagnostic evaluation., (© 2013 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Background: Our aim was to assess the prevalence and associated risk factors of common hypersensitivity reactions to drugs in the adult population, for which limited data are available., Methods: The data consisted of 1052 questionnaires obtained from adults. The questionnaires consisted of questions on immediate-type hypersensitivity reactions induced by drugs (itching, skin rash/hives, angio-oedema, shortness of breath, hypotension, and loss of consciousness). The questionnaire added knowledge on physician's diagnosis of asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and other chronic systemic diseases., Results: The prevalence of self-reported drug hypersensitivity reactions was 11.8% for all reactions. Hypersensitivity reactions to analgesics were the most common (37.2%) followed by antibiotics (24.2%). Multivariate analysis showed that female gender (Odds Ratio (OR) 95% Confidence Interval (CI) (2.00 (1.25-3.21)), physician-diagnosed allergic rhinitis (3.03 (1.64-5.59)), and eczema (3.22 (1.87-5.53)) were associated with any type of drug hypersensitivity reactions. Itching was associated with allergic rhinitis (4.50 (2.06-9.81)) and eczema diagnosis (4.24 (2.14-8.64)). Skin rash/hives were associated with female gender (2.67 (1.24-5.74)), allergic rhinitis (4.57 (1.99-10.05)), and eczema (5.36 (2.65-10.84)). Angio-oedema was higher in females (5.74 (1.69-18.5)). In addition, eczema (2.87 (1.12-7.32)) and systemic hypertension (2.60(1.03-6.10)) were associated with angio-oedema. Shortness of breath was only associated with ever asthma diagnosis (6.59 (2.09-20.83)). Factors associated with loss of consciousness were female gender (5.56 (1.27-24.30)), allergic rhinitis diagnosis (4.76 (1.73-13.14)), and systemic hypertension (2.74 (1.02-7.41))., Conclusion: The study showed that females and subjects with allergic diseases and hypertension were more susceptible to drug hypersensitivity reactions., (Copyright © 2009 SEICAP. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.)