Hymenoptera venom anaphylaxis in adult Korean: a multicenter retrospective case study.
10.4168/aard.2014.2.5.344
- Author:
Su Kyoung LEE
1
;
Young Min YE
;
Hae Sim PARK
;
Gwang Cheon JANG
;
Young Koo JEE
;
Hye Kyung PARK
;
Young Il KOH
;
Joo Hee KIM
;
Cheol Woo KIM
;
Gyu Young HUR
;
Mi Kyoung KIM
;
Tae Bum KIM
;
Gil Soon CHOI
;
Sang Heon KIM
;
Seong Wook SOHN
Author Information
1. Department of Internal Medicine, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea. seongwook@dumc.or.kr
- Publication Type:Multicenter Study ; Original Article
- Keywords:
Hymenoptera;
Bee venoms;
Anaphylaxis;
Apitherapy
- MeSH:
Adult*;
Anaphylaxis*;
Apitherapy;
Bee Venoms;
Bees;
Bites and Stings;
Diagnosis;
Epinephrine;
Hospitalization;
Humans;
Hymenoptera*;
Korea;
Medical Records;
Retrospective Studies*;
Risk Factors;
Venoms*
- From:Allergy, Asthma & Respiratory Disease
2014;2(5):344-351
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
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.
