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Allergy‐like immediate reactions with herbal medicines in children: A retrospective study using data from VigiBase ®
Author(s) -
Meincke Ricarda,
Pokladnikova Jitka,
Straznicka Julie,
Meyboom Ronald H.B.,
Niedrig David,
Russmann Stefan,
Jahodar Ludek
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
pediatric allergy and immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.269
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1399-3038
pISSN - 0905-6157
DOI - 10.1111/pai.12778
Subject(s) - medicine , allergy , rash , adverse effect , drug reaction , allergic reaction , population , hypersensitivity reaction , dermatology , pharmacovigilance , traditional medicine , pediatrics , drug , pharmacology , immunology , environmental health
Background The use of herbal medicines in children and the general population is continually on the rise with an overall herbal lifetime and current use ranging between 0.8%‐85.5% and 2.2%‐8.9%, respectively. Although acute hypersensitivity reactions are generally considered to be rare, little knowledge exists on the frequency and type of these reactions especially in specific populations like children. Objectives To assess the patterns of acute hypersensitivity reactions to herbal medicines reported to the WHO global individual case safety report ( ICSR ) database VigiBase ® in children. Study design From the original VigiBase ® extract for the time between 1968 and 2014, we included all reports with adverse drug reactions ( ADR ) associated with herbal medicines in children where WHO ‐ ART reaction terms were indicative of acute hypersensitivity reactions. Results VigiBase ® contained 2646 ICSR s with 14 860 distinct adverse reactions reported in association with herbal medicine in children. Among those, 79 cases with 107 allergy‐like reactions met our inclusion criteria. The most commonly reported WHO ‐ ART terms were urticaria or rash/rash erythematous (59.8%), and allergic reaction (8.4%). The most frequently reported suspected herbal medicines were mixed herbal products (51.4%), Hedera helix (15.0%), and Echinacea purpurea (5.6%). Most frequent routes of administration were oral (75.9%), topical (8.9%), and rectal (3.8%). Over 30% of cases were reported in the age group from 7 to 12 years. The majority of reports were received from Germany (29.1%), Thailand (21.5%), and Australia (11.4%). Conclusion VigiBase ® contains a considerable number of acute hypersensitivity reactions in children associated with herbal medicines, including life‐threatening reactions such as anaphylactic shock.