06
June
Hubei Daily: A five-year retrospective study at Tongji Hospital found that antibiotics need to be guarded against the risk of inducing severe allergies
Hubei Daily (Reporter Long Hua, correspondent Deng Guohuan, intern Shu Yan) Recently, Dr Zhu Rongfei, Chief Physician of the Department of Allergic Reactions, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), has published a groundbreaking study ‘Anaphylaxis in outpatients: A 5-year retrospective study on incidence and clinical characteristics at a university hospital in Wuhan, China’ in the prestigious international journal 《Allergy》. "This study reveals the epidemiological trends and diagnostic challenges of severe allergic reactions.
Based on the data analysis of Tongji Hospital's Data Platform Application Portal (DPAP), combined with procedural screening and manual screening, the research team found that there were 16.34 new cases of severe allergic reactions per 100,000 people per year among outpatients in Wuhan, and the incidence rate showed a rising trend year by year. Among the severe allergic reaction cases with clear triggers, drug-induced cases accounted for 40.7%, of which antibiotic-induced cases accounted for 40.6% of drug-induced cases, i.e. 16.5% of the total number of cases.
When people talk about allergies, the first thing that comes to mind is common symptoms such as red, itchy skin, sneezing and runny nose, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. In fact, allergies are much more complex than that. Severe allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis, are acute, potentially fatal systemic hypersensitivity reactions. Its onset is rapid and harmful, with potentially fatal risks.
The incidence of severe allergic reactions is increasing every year and may be related to factors such as genetics, lifestyle, and environmental changes. ‘I once saw a 9-year-old girl who developed anaphylaxis due to fluid infusion during outpatient treatment of an infection in the upper left lung, and fortunately, timely medical intervention controlled the condition.’ Zhu Rongfei said, ‘The irrational use of antibiotics will not only lead to drug resistance, but may also cause severe allergic reactions. Therefore, antibiotics need to be used with special care, and before using the medication, it is important to ask about allergy history and family history, and to conduct the necessary skin tests."
Zhu Rongfei introduced that, at present, domestic epidemiological investigations on severe allergic reactions mainly focus on analysing their clinical characteristics and therapeutic measures, and have not yet incorporated severe allergic reactions into the formal diagnostic system, and so far, no study has been able to provide comprehensive morbidity data or reveal its incidence trend; coupled with the insufficient knowledge of some clinicians on the condition, it has led to the relative scarcity of relevant epidemiological data.
Given the acute onset and potentially fatal risk of severe allergic reactions, the Zhu Rongfei team calls for more proactive and systematic improvements in the prevention, recognition and management of severe allergic reactions. In particular, much work remains to be done to raise awareness of this condition among healthcare professionals and to establish a comprehensive monitoring system for severe allergic reactions. These efforts will help to reduce the incidence of severe allergic reactions and protect public health.
News Source：同济医院一项五年回顾性研究发现 抗生素诱发严重过敏风险需防范 (hubeidaily.net)
