TY - JOUR
T1 - Educational case series
T2 - Mechanisms of drug allergy
AU - Caubet, Jean Christoph
AU - Pichler, Werner J.
AU - Eigenmann, Philippe A.
PY - 2011/9
Y1 - 2011/9
N2 - Once administered, a drug can activate the immune system by various mechanisms and lead to a large range of clinical manifestations closely related to the type of immune reaction elicited. Administration of the drug can classically result in an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-type sensitization, but can also result in more complex activation of the immune system potentially resulting in severe syndromes, such as the drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS). Although there has been a major increase in our knowledge over the last years, the exact mechanisms of drug allergy are not well understood for most clinical manifestations. A complex interaction between individual characteristics, environmental factors, and the drug itself is usually responsible for adverse reactions to drugs. In this educational review series, we described three cases of drug allergy: first, a child with a typical IgE-mediated drug allergy, second, a child with a non-immediate reaction to penicillin, and in the third patient, we will discuss the drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome, which is rare but potentially fatal. These cases are correlated to the immune mechanism potentially involved.
AB - Once administered, a drug can activate the immune system by various mechanisms and lead to a large range of clinical manifestations closely related to the type of immune reaction elicited. Administration of the drug can classically result in an immunoglobulin E (IgE)-type sensitization, but can also result in more complex activation of the immune system potentially resulting in severe syndromes, such as the drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome (DIHS). Although there has been a major increase in our knowledge over the last years, the exact mechanisms of drug allergy are not well understood for most clinical manifestations. A complex interaction between individual characteristics, environmental factors, and the drug itself is usually responsible for adverse reactions to drugs. In this educational review series, we described three cases of drug allergy: first, a child with a typical IgE-mediated drug allergy, second, a child with a non-immediate reaction to penicillin, and in the third patient, we will discuss the drug-induced hypersensitivity syndrome, which is rare but potentially fatal. These cases are correlated to the immune mechanism potentially involved.
KW - Drug allergy
KW - Drug hypersensitivity syndrome
KW - IgE antibodies
KW - Mechanisms
KW - T lymphocytes
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80052877054&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2011.01183.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2011.01183.x
M3 - Review article
C2 - 21645118
AN - SCOPUS:80052877054
SN - 0905-6157
VL - 22
SP - 559
EP - 567
JO - Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
JF - Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
IS - 6
ER -