Allergy Asthma Respir Dis.  2014 Nov;2(5):344-351. 10.4168/aard.2014.2.5.344.

Hymenoptera venom anaphylaxis in adult Korean: a multicenter retrospective case study

• Lee SK
• Ye YM
• Park HS
• Jang GC
• Jee YK
• Park HK
• Koh YI
• Kim JH
• Kim CW
• Hur GY
• Kim MK
• Kim TB
• Choi GS
• Kim SH
• Sohn SW
• KAAACI Work Group for Urticaria/Angioedema/Anaphylaxis

• KMID: 1803541
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4168/aard.2014.2.5.344

Abstract

PURPOSE
We investigated the causes, clinical features, and risk factors of bee venom anaphylaxis in Korea.
METHODS
The medical records of the diagnosis of anaphylaxis during a 5-year period from the 14 hospitals in Korea have been retrospectively reviewed. Cases of bee venom anaphylaxis were identified among anaphylaxis patients, and subgroup analyses were done.
RESULTS
A total of 291 patients were included. The common cause of bee species was vespid (24.6%) in bee venom anaphylaxis, followed by honeybee and vespid (8.8%), apitherapy (7.7%), and honeybee (2.0%), although the causative bee species were commonly unknown (56.9%). The severity of anaphylaxis was mostly mild-moderate (72.9%), and common clinical manifestations included cutaneous (80.6%), cardiovascular (39.2%), respiratory (38.1%), and gastrointestinal (13.1%) symptoms. Portable epinephrine auto-injectors were prescribed to 12.1% of the patients. Subject positive to both vespid and honeybee showed more severe symptoms and higher epinephrine use (P<0.05). The severity was significantly associated with older age, but not with gender, underlying allergic disease, or family history. Apitherapy-induced anaphylaxis showed a higher rate of hospitalization and epinephrine use than bee sting anaphylaxis (P<0.05).
CONCLUSION
Vespid is the most common cause of bee venom anaphylaxis in Korea. It is suggested that positivity to honeybee and vespid may be associated with more severe symptoms.

Keyword

Hymenoptera; Bee venoms; Anaphylaxis; Apitherapy

MeSH Terms

Adult*
Anaphylaxis*
Apitherapy
Bee Venoms
Bees
Bites and Stings
Diagnosis
Epinephrine
Hospitalization
Humans
Hymenoptera*
Korea
Medical Records
Retrospective Studies*
Risk Factors
Venoms*
Bee Venoms
Epinephrine
Venoms

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