Self-reported prevalence of hypersensitivity reactions against drugs among medical students: does awareness cause any difference?
OBJECTIVE
True epidemiologic data on hypersensitivity reactions to drugs are scarce. More accurate data may be obtained in more specific clinical settings. Considering their educational background, medical students may be an appropriate target audience for evaluating prevalence of drug hypersensitivity. This study is designed to determine the prevalence of self-reported drug hypersensitivity alongside related factors among young adults.


METHODS
A structured questionnaire was administered to the students.


RESULTS
A total of 1267 students (mean age: 21.71+1.90 years, F/M: 648/619) from all grades responded to the survey. The mean prevalence of self-reported drug hypersensitivity was 4.7% (60/1267). The most frequently involved drugs were beta-lactam antibiotics (55%) followed by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (28%). The most commonly reported clinical presentations were cutaneous (43.3%), followed by systemic (36.8%), cardiovascular (8.3%) and respiratory (8.3%) symptoms. Factors related with reported reactions were higher grades (p=0.015, OR: 2.09), female gender (p=0.006, OR: 2.13), personal history of allergic diseases (p=0.001, OR: 2.64), and family history of drug hypersensitivity (p<0.001, OR: 5.78). Half of the students sought medical help during the acute stage of their reaction. Only 3.2% of the cases have been referred to an allergist for further evaluation.


CONCLUSIONS
This study, the first of its kind in Turkey, with medical students showed that self-reported hypersensitivity reactions to drugs is highly prevalent and its prevalence seems to be affected by awareness of the individuals in addition to previously reported risk factors. The education of both patients and physicians on the management of drug hypersensitivity seems to be necessary.
Department of Pulmonary Disease, Division of Allergy, School of Medicine, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey. bavbek@medicine.ankara.edu.tr
Sevim
S
Bavbek
Ferda Öner
FÖ
Erkekol
Gülfem Elif
GE
Celik
Ipek
I
Gönüllü
Zeynep
Z
Misirligil
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001364:Awareness; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004342:Drug Hypersensitivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D057566:Self Report; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult