Health Alert: Biggest Cause of Fatal Allergic Reactions is Medications.
More than half (59%) of allergy-related deaths are caused by medications, as reported in a study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. In 40% of cases in which a specific drug was identified, it was an antibiotic. The next most common allergy-inducing drugs were radiocontrast agents, followed by chemotherapy medications. The researchers say that the number of fatal drug reactions nearly doubled between 1999 and 2010, and this increase could be due to increased medication use, more tests with contrast material, and to some degree, coding changes entered by hospital personnel.
Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, September 2014