Food-Induced Anaphylaxis among Children Weighing15 kg: A Single-Center Case Series of the Pediatric Emergency Department

Food-induced anaphylaxis among infants shows an increasing prevalence; however, the prescription of epinephrine auto-injectors (EAIs) for children weighing15 kg is associated with issues of the needle length and the epinephrine dose. Several studies have shown age-related differences in food-induced anaphylaxis, although little is known about the weight-related differences in food-induced anaphylaxis. This study aimed to reveal the incidence, clinical characteristics, and management of food-induced anaphylaxis in children weighing15 kg.This chart review included children who visited the pediatric emergency department (ED) of the National Center for Child Health and Development (Tokyo, Japan) from January 2014 to December 2016 and were diagnosed with food-induced anaphylaxis. The severity of anaphylaxis was evaluated using the Sampson Grading Scale.Of 89,232 ED visits, 444 visits included patients with food-induced anaphylaxis, after excluding cases of food-induced anaphylaxis related to oral desensitization therapy. The incidence was 4.98 per 1,000 visits. More than half of the children (n = 247/444, 55.6%) weighed15 kg. The proportion of grade 3 and higher severity anaphylactic symptoms was 74.5% (184/247) in children weighing15 kg and 79.2% (156/197) in children weighing 15 kg or more. The recurrence rate of food-induced anaphylaxis was 22.3% (55/247) in children weighing15 kg and 48.7% (96/197) in children weighing 15 kg or more. Among the children weighing15 kg, the proportion of those with recurrent food-induced anaphylaxis was 4 times higher in children weighing 10-15 kg than in those weighing10 kg (32.2% [47/146] vs. 7.9% [8/101]). The proportion of patients who were prescribed EAIs before each visit was 25.5% (14/55) in children weighing15 kg with a history of food-induced anaphylaxis.Food-induced anaphylaxis among children weighing15 kg occurred as frequently and was as severe as that among children weighing 15 kg or more. However, the proportion of patients prescribed EAIs was very low in children weighing15 kg with food-induced anaphylaxis. The potential need for EAIs is suggested among children weighing15 kg, especially among children weighing 10 kg or more but15 kg.