Incidence and Trends of Anaphylaxis Among Inpatients from 2003 to 2023
in Wuhan, China: A Multicenter Retrospective Study
Abstract
Background: The incidence of a disease can help health
professionals to identify risk factors and health-care policymakers to
develop corresponding policies. The realization of both purposes depends
on comprehensive studies, especially studies done on a large scale.
However, comprehensive studies on the incidence of anaphylaxis among
inpatients in China are still notably scarce. Hence we aim to explore
the incidence and clinical characteristics of anaphylaxis among
inpatients over a 21-year span in Wuhan, China. Methods: We
retrieved data on anaphylaxis cases from the Data Platform Application
Portal (DPAP) across three medical centers of Tongji Hospital, Wuhan,
China from January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2023. Results: The
data encompassed a total of 362 anaphylaxis patients from 2,139,272
inpatients. Among them 204 (56.4%) were male, and the median age was 45
years old. Over the past two decades, the incidence rate of anaphylaxis
at Tongji Hospital was 16.92 per 100,000 individuals. After adjusting
for gender and age, the annual standardized incidence rate was 234.53
per 100,000 individuals. The incidence rate of anaphylaxis among the
inpatients revealed a relatively stable but slowly rising trend over the
21-year observation period. As for the triggers of anaphylaxis, drugs
were responsible for 73.6% of triggers, with antibiotics accounting for
the majority of these cases (38.4%). Drug triggers also showed
age-specific features: chemotherapy (17.9%) had the highest proportions
among children aged 0-3 years; blood products were more prevalent in
school-age children. 13.5% of the cases had an unknown cause. In
anaphylaxis cases, despite that only 36.0% received epinephrine
treatment, the application of epinephrine still showed an ascending
trend. Moreover, the mortality rate for anaphylaxis was relatively low
(1.6%), displaying a consistent downward trend. Conclusion:
Our study provides insights into the incidence of anaphylaxis among
inpatients in Wuhan over a 21-year period. Drugs are the most common
triggers for anaphylaxis, and the use of epinephrine in anaphylaxis
management is far from optimal.