Asia Pac Allergy.  2014 Apr;4(2):126-128. 10.5415/apallergy.2014.4.2.126.

Successful prevention of recurrent anaphylactic events with anti-immunoglobulin E therapy

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Internal Medicine, Jeju National University School of Medicine, Jeju 690-756, Korea. doc4u@hanmail.net

Abstract

Anaphylaxis is a fatal and systemic allergic reaction, which can be prevented by avoiding exposure to a causative agent. However, the causative agent cannot be identified in all cases and may be hardly avoided. A 41-year-old man, diagnosed with idiopathic anaphylaxis, experienced 6 anaphylactic events over 7 months, requiring 4 emergency department (ER) visits and 3 epinephrine self-injections. Anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) therapy was introduced to prevent further anaphylactic events. He experienced no anaphylactic events during 13 months of 4 monthly injections from the beginning until his most recent ER visit because of a similar anaphylactic event. We report a patient who experienced recurrent anaphylactic events that were prevented effectively by anti-IgE therapy with omalizumab. Anti-IgE therapy might be considered as an option to prevent anaphylactic events in patients for whom the causative agent(s) cannot be identified or avoided.

Keyword

Anaphylaxis; Omalizumab; Immunoglobulin E; Prevention and control; Immediate hypersensitivity

MeSH Terms

Adult
Anaphylaxis
Distance Counseling*
Emergency Service, Hospital
Epinephrine
Humans
Hypersensitivity
Hypersensitivity, Immediate
Immunoglobulin E
Omalizumab
Epinephrine
Immunoglobulin E
Omalizumab

Figure

  • Fig. 1 The chronological scheme of the patient's anaphylactic events.


Reference

1. Simons FE, Ardusso LR, Bilo MB, Dimov V, Ebisawa M, El-Gamal YM, Ledford DK, Lockey RF, Ring J, Sanchez-Borges M, Senna GE, Sheikh A, Thong BY, Worm M. World Allergy Organization. 2012 Update: World Allergy Organization Guidelines for the assessment and management of anaphylaxis. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012; 12:389–399.
2. Webb LM, Lieberman P. Anaphylaxis: a review of 601 cases. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2006; 97:39–43.
Article
3. Nam YH, Kim JH, Jin HJ, Hwang EK, Shin YS, Ye YM, Park HS. Effects of omalizumab treatment in patients with refractory chronic urticaria. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2012; 4:357–361.
Article
4. Kaplan AP. Treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria. Allergy Asthma Immunol Res. 2012; 4:326–331.
Article
5. Lieberman JA, Chehade M. Use of omalizumab in the treatment of food allergy and anaphylaxis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep. 2013; 13:78–84.
Article
6. Nam YH, Lee SK. Management of severe refractory asthma. Korean J Med. 2012; 83:438–443.
Article
7. Lee J, Doggweiler-Wiygul R, Kim S, Hill BD, Yoo TJ. Is interstitial cystitis an allergic disorder?: A case of interstitial cystitis treated successfully with anti-IgE. Int J Urol. 2006; 13:631–634.
Article
8. Kontou-Fili K, Filis CI. Prolonged high-dose omalizumab is required to control reactions to venom immunotherapy in mastocytosis. Allergy. 2009; 64:1384–1385.
Article
9. Sicherer SH, Leung DY. Advances in allergic skin disease, anaphylaxis, and hypersensitivity reactions to foods, drugs, and insects in 2009. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010; 125:85–97.
Article
10. Jaqua NT, Peterson MR, Davis KL. Exercise-induced anaphylaxis: a case report and review of the diagnosis and treatment of a rare but potentially life-threatening syndrome. Case Rep Med. 2013; 2013:610726.
Article
11. Jones JD, Marney SR Jr, Fahrenholz JM. Idiopathic anaphylaxis successfully treated with omalizumab. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2008; 101:550–551.
Article
12. Warrier P, Casale TB. Omalizumab in idiopathic anaphylaxis. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2009; 102:257–258.
Article
13. Pitt TJ, Cisneros N, Kalicinsky C, Becker AB. Successful treatment of idiopathic anaphylaxis in an adolescent. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010; 126:415–416. author reply 416.
Article
14. Bell MC, Jackson DJ. Prevention of anaphylaxis related to mast cell activation syndrome with omalizumab. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2012; 108:383–384.
Article
Full Text Links
  • APA
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr