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JACI Highlights - March 2007
Bock et al - Further fatalities due to anaphylactic reactions to food: 2001 to 2006
In the April 2007 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Bock and colleagues report on a follow-up to their 2001 study of individuals who died due to food-related anaphylaxis. The study's objective was to determine if there were any changes in the characteristics of fatalities since their previous report. Studying 31 additional cases of food allergy-induced death between 2001 and August 2006, the authors found that the lack of education in patients, families, healthcare providers and the community, lack of preparedness of allergic individuals and their families to respond appropriately, and lack of prompt reporting of the abrupt onset of serious allergic symptoms continue to be the major factors in fatalities. Importantly, in all cases where information was available, the individuals who died had asthma and known food allergy. Far too few of these individuals had self-injectable epinephrine available. The authors believe that a concerted national effort, similar to that of the NHLBI Guidelines for Diagnosing and Managing Asthma, is necessary to reverse the morbidity and mortality of this growing national problem.
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