Peanut is most prevalent culprit in anaphylaxis PICU admits

ORLANDO – Food was found to be the most commonly identified trigger, with peanuts the most prevalent food cause, in what researchers say is the largest comprehensive review of anaphylaxis episodes in North America that led to pediatric intensive-care unit stays.

Researchers examined the Virtual Pediatrics Systems database, an international database of pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) information, said Carla M. Davis, MD, a pediatrician at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston. During 2010-2015, there were 1,989 pediatric anaphylaxis admissions to these units in North America, she reported at the joint congress of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the World Asthma Organization.

^{Thomas R. Collins/Frontline Medical Communications}

Dr. Carla M. Davis

“Because anaphylaxis is one of the most severe consequences of allergic disease, we decided that this study needed to be done to see really what the landscape was in the most critically ill children,” she said.