Aspirin allergy

This paper represents a 17-year prospective study of the clinical characteristics of patients with a history of having had allergic reactions to aspirin. The following points are especially important. (1) The most common manifestation is urticarica/angioedema; the second most common, asthma. (2) Women of child-bearing age are especially prone to develop aspirin sensitivity, otherwise the age of onset is approximately equal in the two sexes, varying from one year to 60 years. (3) Although an immunologic basis of aspirin sensitivity has not been demonstrated, 90% of its victims are also sensitive to inhalants (76%), foods (74%) or drugs (43%). (4) The authors could not confirm the widely held view that aspirin cross-reacts with tartrazine. (5) They were also unable to confirm another widely held view that asthmatic patients who are sensitive to aspirin have a strong tendency to develop nasal polyps. (6) The prognosis of asthma in patients sensitive to aspirin does not differ from that of patients who are not. These findings underline the importance of giving every aspirin-sensitive patient the benefit of a complete allergic work-up.