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Health

Causes of drug allergies

, medical expert
Last reviewed: 06.07.2025
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Drug allergy in children most often occurs when taking antibiotics: penicillin, less often other penicillin antibiotics, cephalosporins, tetracycline, sulfonamides, antihistamines, thiamine (vitamin B1), hormonal drugs (ACTH, insulin, etc.), lysozyme, salicylates, iodides.

A predisposing factor is atopic diathesis. According to literature, drug allergy is detected in 25-30% of children with atopic diathesis and only in 0.5% of children without it.

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How does drug allergy develop in children?

All four types of allergic reactions, according to Gell and Coombs, can be a pathogenetic link in drug allergy.

  • Acute allergic reactions in response to medication are usually mediated by type I reactions - reagins (IgE).
  • Subacute reactions developing within 72 hours after taking the drug are most often caused by type II reactions, mediated by IgG and IgM and a complex antigen (drug hapten + tissue protein).
  • Even later, prolonged allergic reactions to drugs caused by type III reactions - immune complexes - appear. Reagins (IgE) can also play a decisive role in the genesis of subacute and prolonged reactions.

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