Cetirizine‐induced anaphylaxis: a rare adverse drug reaction

Abstract

A 30-year-old female patient was prescribed oral cetirizine 10 mg at night for the treatment of chronic idiopathic urticaria. Within 15 min of oral ingestion of cetirizine 10 mg, the patient experienced severe pruritis and urticarial eruption all over the body. She developed severe breathlessness and was unable to speak.The patient became restless, disoriented and lost consciousness. She was rushed to the emergency room. Her pulse and blood pressure were unrecordable and air entry was decreased in both lungs. A diagnosis of anaphylactic shock was made. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started and epinephrine 0.5 mg of

Reply to: Medication contaminants as a potential cause of anaphylaxis to vincristine: What about drug specific antigens?

“…There are rare examples of allergy to these medications [6]. However, the four patients in our study who were premedicated after their initial reaction to vincristine tolerated subsequent infusions.…”

Drug-induced anaphylactic reactions in Indian population: A systematic review

“…Out of 100 fully evaluated, 52 references were included in the analysis as per selection criteria. [ 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 ] The flow diagram for the article selection is presented as Figure 1 .…”

“…The associated allergic conditions were bronchial asthma (1.85%),[ 37 ] idiopathic urticaria (1.85%),[ 28 ] household detergent allergy (1.85%)[ 35 ] and latex allergy (1.85%). [ 13 ] History of anaphylaxis with same drugs (ranitidine and tinidazole) was positive in two cases. [ 55 64 ] In the case of tinidazole induced anaphylaxis, norfloxacin + tinidazole fixed dose combination caused oral mucosal lesions on first exposure; anaphylaxis and erythema multiforme on second exposure.…”

Bilateral angioedema of eye with single dose of cetirizine

“…There are no known H 1 antihistaminics which are free from adverse effects, although having a good tolerance in human. 11 Reports are there on cetirizine causing dermatological reactions like fixed drug eruptions 12 urticaria 13 and anaphylaxis, 14 but no cases have been reported about cetirizine causing isolated angioedema.…”