Infant Anaphylaxis Most Commonly Triggered By Food

Anaphylaxis in infants most commonly results from exposure to food, particularly eggs, according to the results of a recent study.

In order to further explore the causes, clinical features, and severity of infant anaphylaxis, researchers performed a retrospective case-note review of infants presenting with anaphylaxis at a single hospital from January to December 2016.

Overall, 15 of a total 275 children with anaphylaxis were infants between 4 and 11 months of age. Among these patients, food was the most common cause of anaphylaxis (11 of 15), with eggs being responsible for 8 reactions. Milk, peanut, and banana were each responsible for a single reaction, while drug reactions accounted for 3.

All 15 of the cases involved cutaneous symptoms, and respiratory, gastrointestinal, and other symptoms occurred in 9, 8, and 1 cases, respectively. Symptoms developed within 15 minutes in 10 cases, after 30 minutes in 1 case, and time to symptom onset was unrecorded in 4 cases.

“Infant anaphylaxis is most commonly the result of a severe allergic reaction to food, especially egg. In the majority, symptoms occur soon after ingestion, with skin symptoms predominating. Infant anaphylaxis can be severe and may require multiple doses of epinephrine administration. Parents must be educated appropriately on use of emergency medication and management of allergic reactions.”

—Michael Potts

Blackman A, Anvari S, Anagnostou A. Triggers and severity of anaphylaxis in infants. AAAI. 2018. 121(5):S12–S13