Revista Portuguesa de Imunoalergologia
ISSN 0871-9721
CADINHA, Susana. Drug Hypersensitivity - In vivo diagnosis. []. , 24, 2, pp.87-92. ISSN 0871-9721.
Hypersensitivity reactions represent about one third of all adverse drug reactions and affect more than 7 % of the general population and therefore represent an important public health problem. Drug allergies are drug hypersensitivity reactions for which a definite immunological mechanism is demonstrated. Misclassification based on the drug hypersensitivity reaction history alone may limit therapeutic options and can lead to the use of more-expensive and potentially less-effective drugs. This review summarizes the available in vivo diagnostic procedures, such as skin biopsy, skin tests and drug provocation test, and evaluates its importance in order to establish a solid drug hypersensitivity diagnosis
: drug allergy; drug hypersensitivity; drug provocation; test skin biopsy; skin tests.