Allergy/Immunology Flashcards
What are the types of hypersensitivity reactions?
Type I: immediate/anaphylactic or antibody mediated
Type II: cytotoxic T cell mediated
Type III: Immune complex mediated
Type IV: delayed hypersensitivity
Anaphylaxis is a form of what type of hypersensitivity reaction?
Type I
What is the most important cytokine in the early or acute phase of at type I hypersensitivity reaction?
Histamine
What is the predominant cell type during an early or acute phase type I hypersentivity reaction?
Mast cell
What is the predominant cell type during the late phase of a type I hypersentivity reaction?
Eosinophils
In what type of hypersentivity reaction might you see a systemic hypersensitivity induced by an unknown factor that results in IgG or IgM mediated cytotoxic action against an antigen located on the surface of a cell (or compliment mediated lysis of the cell)?
Type II cytotoxic hypersensitivity
In what hypersensitivity reaction are immune complexes formed (IgG) as a result of the presence of drugs/bacterial products, which result in complement activation and a delayed (days) acute inflammatory reaction?
Type III immune complex mediated
In what hypersensitivity reaction do antigens directly stimulate T cell activation and cell mediated inflammation resulting in dermatitis, granulomatous disease and some fungal disease?
Type IV delayed hypersensitivity
What three cell types are required during the primary antigen exposure for the formation of antigen specific IgE antibody formation?
- Mast cells
- T cells (T helper cells type 2)
- B cells
Two most common causes of anaphylaxis
- Foods
- Drug reactions
A patient has multiple recurrent episodes of anaphylaxis with an unidentified cause. The patient states that his allergist asked him to have a laboratory test in the ED the next time he had an episode in an effort to confirm the diagnosis. What test does the allergist want and when should it be drawn?
Serum tryptase. Serum tryptase peaks in 30 minutes and should be drawn within 3 hours of the start of the episode
What is the most common condition to be mistaken for anaphylaxis?
- Vasodepressor reaction usually triggered by trauma or stress and manifesting as flushing, pallor, weakness, diaphoresis, hypotension and at times loss of consciousness
What dose of epinephrine should be given during anaphylaxis to adults and children?
Intramuscular administration is preferred 1ml/1ml (1:1000), mid outer thigh
- Adult 0.3-0.5mg
- Children: 0.01mg/kg, max of 0.5mg
- Can repeat at 5-15 min intervals
- Autoinjectors usually have 0.3mg for adults and 0.15mg for children who weigh less than 25kg
Primary reasons for administering an antihistamine to patients with anaphylaxis?
Resolution of cutaneous manifestations of anaphylaxis
A patient taking what kind of drugs may be refractory to the treatment of anaphylaxis?
Beta blockers
Angioedema
Significant swelling of deep dermal or subcutaneous tissues, less often associated with pruritus and more commonly associated with bruning or pain
Most common cause of angioedema?
ACE inhibitors
What is the cause of hereditary angioedema?
Caused by high levesl of CT in the bloodstream secondary to deficiency of C1 inhibitor
Mode of inheritance of heredeary angioedema
Autosomal dominant
Seasonal allergy
An outdoor allergen with seasonal occurrence. Trees in winter/spring, grasses in summer and molds in fall
Perennial allergy
Indoor allergen with no consistent seasonal pattern such as dust mites and animal dander
Intermittent allergic rhinitis
present for <4 days/week for < 4 weeks of the year
Persistent allergic rhinitis
Present for >4 days/week and more than 4 weeks of the year
Which season would you expect seasonal allergic rhinitis in response to elm, birch, ash, oak, aspen, maple, box elder, hickory, sycamore, cedar, ect
Winter/spring (Feb-May)
Which season would you expect seasonal allergic rhinitis in response to Bermuda grass, Johnson grass, sweet vernal grass, Timothy grass, Orchard grass, ect.
Late spring/summer (April-Aug)
Which season would you expect seasonal allergic rhinitis in response to ragweed, nettle, mugwort, sage, lamb’s quarter, goosefoot, sorrel, ect.
Late summer/fall (July to first hard frost)
Measures to decrease exposure to house dust mite antigen?
- Wash bedding weekly at >130F
- Use impermeable covers over pillows and bedding
- Use hardwood flooring or laminates instead of carpet
- Keep humidity levels less than 45%
How long after removing a pet from a home can it take for the amount of allergen to decrease below clinically significant levels?
4 months
A patient has asprin sensitive asthma and urticaria. In addition to NSAIDs, what chemical used in foods would you recommend they avoid?
Tartrazine (yellow #5); as many as 15% of affected individuals will react to this
Infection with what pathogenic organism is most commonly associated with eosinophilia and urticaria?
Helminth infections such as Ascaris lumbricoides
What is cold urticaria and what should patients be warned to avoid?
Rapid swelling, erythema, and pruritus after exposure to cold objects or weather. It affects only areas exposed to cold. There have been reports of death secondary to hypotension in people who swam in cold water.
What clinical test might be used to determine whether a patient suffers from cold urticaria?
Clinical history. Ice cube test can be used to confirm (place ice cube on forearm for 4 min and observe area of 10 min, symptoms should develop in 2 min)
Stroking the skin with a fingernail or tongue blade causes a wheal and falre reaction where the skin was touched. What is the diagnosis?
Dermatographism
What form of allergy testing must be used in patients with dermatographism?
Radioallergosorbent test (RAST) or ELISA based blood assays
Treatment for dermatographism
Typically treated with 25-50mg of diphenhydramine or hydroxyzine daily. Seond generation antihistamines work for mild symptoms
What immunoglobulin mediates most food allergies?
IgE
Allergy testing to specific allergens can be done via which two broad techniques?
- In vivo (skin testing)
- In vitro (serum testing)
What immunoglobulin is being tested for with in vivo skin testing
Antigen specific IgE
What are the two most common locations for performing skin testing
- Volar surface of forearm
- Back
What type of in vivo allergy test is performed using scratch, prick/puncture, or patch to challenge a patient by introducing allergen into the epidermis only?
Epicutaneous testing
What type of in vivo allergy test is performed using intradermal techniques to place antifen into the superficial dermis?
Percutaneous testing
What variables impact both epicutaneous and percutaneous skin testing?
- Age of skin (very young and very old may be less sensitive)
- Area of body being tested (sensitivity: upper back> lower back> upper arm> lower arm)
- Skin pigmentation (darker skin colors may be less sensitive)
- Concurrent medications
- Potency and biologic stability of the allergen test extract
- Dermatopathology: dermatographism, eczema -> contraindications, including degree of sensitization, recent anaphylaxis, recent exposure, prior immunotherapy
During skin testing what controls are commonly used?
- Negative control: glycerin-saline, saline, allergen diluent
- Positive control: histamine (10mg/ml)
During skin testing what term is used to describe the white (blanched) raised area at the site of the allergen application? And the area of erythema that extends beyond this raised region?
- Wheal
- Flare
Why is scratch testing (small superficial lacerations ade in the skin, a drop of concentrated antigen then applied) not recommended for skin testing?
Poor reproducibility, variable sensitivity, poor specificity, frequent false positives, painful and reaction may be due to trauma to skin instead of reaction to allergen
What instruments can be used for perform a skin prik or puncture test?
hypodermic needle, solid bore needle, lancet
Passes through the antifen droplet then the skin at a 45-60 degree angle to the skin, lift and break the skin without causing bleeding for the prick test; or the skin device can be passed through the drop at 90 degree angle to the skin for puncture test
After performing a skin prick or puncture how long should you wait before assessing the response?
15-20min
How can you assess the allergic response to a skin test (epicutaneous or percutaneous)
- Longest diameter or longest diameter and orthogonal diameter (perpendicular) of wheel in millimeters
- Presence or absence of flare and size in millimeters
- Presence or abscense of pseudopods
- Classically based on 0-4+ system based on wheal and flare compared with the negative control and presence of absence of pseudopods
Major disadvantages of skin prick tests
Semiqualitative (less objective than intradermal testing). Low degrees of sensitivity may be missed -> false negative results
When should you use an intradermal/percutaneous allergy test?
When the primary goal of testing is increased sensitivity or for evaluating drug or venom anaphylactic reactions
What is the major risk in using intradermal allergy testing and how can this risk be decreased?
Significant systemic reaction (anaphylaxis). Patients should be screened with prick/puncture testing initially. They can also be screened with very dilue concentrations administered intradermally
What part of the body is commonly used for intradermal testing and why?
Volar surface of the forearm. To allow a tourniquet to be placed in case of systemic symptoms
Specificity and sensitivity of single dilution intradermal skin testing compared to skin prick testing.
Intradermal testing has a high sensitivity and less specificity. It has a higher false positive rate than skin prick testing.
What size needle/syringe is recommended during intradermal dilutional testing?
0.5-1.0ml syringe with a 26-30 gauge needle
What volume of antigen concentrate should be injected during intradermal dilutional testing?
0.01mL (goal is to create a 4mm round wheal)
After injection of 0.01ml and creation of a 4mm wheal you appropriately wait 10 minutes to measure the final wheal. If the injected solution was inert dilutent what diameter do you expect based on passive physical diffusion in the skin?
5mm
What is required for a whealing reponse to be considered positive during intradermal dilutional testing?
A final wheal size of 7mm, which is 2mm larger than the expected size at 10 min from physical diffusion alone. Flare is not measured during this type of testing.
During intradermal dilutional testing you note that the no 6 dilution produces a 5mm wheal after 10 min. You then inject the no 5 dilution and again note a 5mm wheal after 10 min. You therefore inject the no 4 dilution and note a 7mm wheal. What should you do?
Then no 4 dilution demonstrated progressive whealing so you must perform a confirmatory wheal by injecting the no 3 dilution. If this is >7mm it would suggest progressive whealing and then no 4 dilution would be considered the end point of the examination. A confirmatory wheal must grow by at least 2mm.
Describe the technique used for intradermal dilutional testing
- Dilutions created and labeled 1-6 with 6 being the weakest concentration and least likely to induce a response
- Inject a negative control 4mm wheal -> 5mm wheal
- Inject a positive control (histamine) 4 mm wheal -> 7mm +
- 0.01ml of no 6 dilution is injected intradermally to create a 4mm wheal
- wait 10 min
- If wheal is 5mm it is considered negative. If 7mm or larger it is considered positive. Continue with dilution no 5
- If at any dilution you note growth of the weal > 2mm over the negative wheal (so 7mm+) continue with the next dilution
- If the next dilution demonstrates progressive growth (an additional 2mm) stop the test. The first wheal to demonstrate growth is the endpoint dilution and the second dilution to demonstrate progressive whealing is the confirmatory wheal
After a positive fivefold sequential intradermal dilutional testing what dilution should be used as a safe starting point for immunotherapy?
The endpoint dilution (the wheal that initiated progression whealing)
What medications can suppress the wheal and flare response for 48-72 hours?
First generation antihistamines
Which medication should be avoided for 7 days because of suppression of the wheal and flair response?
Second generation antihistamines and tricyclic antidepressants, topical glucocorticoids like clobetasol
What are the second generation antihistamines that should be avoided 7 days before skin testing?
Cetirizine, loratidine, fexofenadine, levocetirizine, -> can blunt skin testing for 24-36 hours
Do leukotriene receptor antagonists (e.g. Singulair) need to be stopped before skin testing?
No they have not been shown to routinely inhibit wheal and flare response
What impact do intranasal or systemic corticosteroids have on wheal and flare response during skin testing?
Little to none
To resuscitate a patient adequately in the unlikely event he develops anaphylaxis after skin testing in office what medications should be stopped
Beta blockers
What test measures serum concentrations of allergen specific IgE antibodies?
RAST and modified RAST (has better sensitivity)
Describe steps involved in original RAST immunoassay
- Allergen bound paper disk is placed in test tube
- Patient’s serum is added and antigen specific IgE binds the antigen
- Excess serum and IgE are washed away
- Radiolabeled anti IgE antibodies are added to the test tube and bind the antigen specific IgE already bound to antigen on the paper disk
- Excess is washed away
- Gamma counter is used to determine the amount of bound IgE
Benefits of immunoassay testing over skin testing
Condition of skin doesn’t matter, results aren’t affected by drugs, no risk of anaphylaxis, greater patient convenience, allows for quantitative assessment, greater specificity. May be less sensitive and is more expensive.
Benefits of skin testing over immunoassay
More sensitive, cheaper, faster results, wider variety of antigens to test
What level of total IgE in a patient’s serum is suggestive of allergy?
Greater than 200 IU however lower concentrations don’t rule out allergy
What are the three main strategies used to manage allergy?
- Environmental modification
- Pharmacotherapy
- Immunotherapy