Allergic Reactions to Drugs and Biologic Agents
- John A. Anderson, MD;
- N. Franklin Adkinson, Jr, MD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
Excerpt
AN ADVERSE drug reaction is any undesirable and unintended response that occurs at doses of an appropriate drug given for the therapeutic, diagnostic, or prophylactic benefit of the patient. Estimates of drug-related complications have ranged from 1% to 15%.1 The prevalence of fatal drug reactions has been estimated at 0.01% for surgical inpatients and 0.1% for medical inpatients.2,3Allergic reactions to drugs refer to those adverse reactions that involve immune mechanisms. Drug intolerance is a broad term that represents all other reactions—both those that are clearly based on nonimmune mechanisms and others in which the mechanism of the reaction is unknown (Table 7-1). Most drug intolerance reactions are mild in nature and self-limited in time but account for 75% or more of adverse drug reactions.1 Allergic (immunologic mechanism) reactions to drugs account for about 5% to 10% of adverse drug reactions and can be identified as being
