A comprehensive adverse drug reaction registry with validated information would improve patient safety and care
Just over two years ago, the Victorian Department of Health introduced mandatory reporting of cases of anaphylaxis in people presenting to public and private emergency departments,1 facilitating data collection unique in Australia. In this issue of the MJA, Drewett and colleagues report their analysis of the first two years of data collected, focusing on medication‐related anaphylaxis.2 While food allergy was the leading cause of anaphylaxis, especially in younger people, drug‐related anaphylaxis accounted for 12% of all cases, and for a relatively high proportion in adults aged 40 years or more. Antimicrobial agents and non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs were most frequently involved.2
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- 1. Victorian Department of Health. Anaphylaxis notifications. Updated 21 Oct 2021. https://www.health.vic.gov.au/public‐health/anaphylaxis‐notifications (viewed Mar 2022).
- 2. Drewett GP, Encena J, Gregory J, et al. Anaphylaxis in Victoria: presentations to emergency departments, with a focus on drug‐ and antimicrobial‐related cases. Med J Aust 2022; 216: 520‐524.
- 3. Lucas M, Loh RKS, Smith WB. Improving drug allergy management in Australia: education, communication and accurate information. Med J Aust 2019; 210: 62‐64. https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2019/210/2/improving‐drug‐allergy‐management‐australia‐education‐communication‐and‐accurate
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- 7. New Zealand Pharmacovigilance Centre. CARM (Centre for Adverse Reactions Monitoring). 2022. https://nzphvc.otago.ac.nz/carm (viewed Mar 2022).
- 8. Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australian Department of Health). Database of adverse event notifications. https://www.tga.gov.au/database‐adverse‐event‐notifications‐daen (viewed Mar 2022).
- 9. Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Acute anaphylaxis clinical care standard. Nov 2021. https://www.safetyandquality.gov.au/publications‐and‐resources/resource‐library/acute‐anaphylaxis‐clinical‐care‐standard (viewed Mar 2022).
- 10. Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. ASCIA guidelines: acute management of anaphylaxis. 2021. https://allergy.org.au/hp/papers/acute‐management‐of‐anaphylaxis‐guidelines (viewed Mar 2022).
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