[Wormius]

Originally Posted by GGG

32 Deaths EVER in North America, 9 in Schools. Riding the school bus is a greater risk then peanut butter. The 9 deaths are attributed to not getting an Epi Pen soon enough.

We need to follow evidence based solutions and not draconian bans. There is absolutely no literature to sugest bans are an effective way of preventing anaphaltic shock. We want people to follow science when it comes to Vaccines. That same standard needs to be maintained when talking about food bans.

(for links to the above numbers see my post in the thread on this topic)

The worst part of this is some schools (my daughters preschool) have banned homemade snacks from being taken to school even if they don't have peanuts in do to fear of cross contamination. Instead they require snacks to be sealed with peanut free labling. So instead of more nutricious home baked snacks they are promoting processed garbage. Though they still do allow vegatables, but I am not sure how they can justify cut up vegatables that have a risk of cross contamination when they won't allow other baked goods.

That number is wrong. That number of 32 was taken from a report as a sample size taken from a larger number of total deaths that were then further studied for specific allergy and other details surrounding the death. That report is referenced in a CDC study on allergies and anaphylaxis. I will list them later when I get to a computer.

Footnotes as promised, spoilers tags as to not annoy:

Spoiler!

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db10.htm

References

1. Sampson HA. Update on food allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol; 113:805-19. 2004.
2. Sicherer SH. Food allergy. Lancet; 360:701-10. 2002.
3. Sicherer SH, Munoz-Furlong A, Sampson HA. Prevalence of peanut and tree nut allergy in the United States determined by means of random digit dial telephone survey: a 5-year follow-up study. J Allergy Clin Immunol; 112:1203-7. 2003.
4. Grundy J, Matthews S, Bateman B, Dean T, Arshad SH. Rising prevalence of allergy to peanut in children: data from 2 sequential cohorts. J Allergy Clin Immunol; 110:784-9. 2002.
5. Bock SA, Munoz-Furlong A, Sampson HA. Further fatalities caused by anaphylactic reactions to food, 2001-2006. J Allergy Clin Immunol; 119:1016-18. 2007.
6. Colver AF, Nevantaus H, Macdougall CF, Cant AJ. Severe food-allergic reactions in children across the UK and Ireland, 1998-2000. Acta Paediatr; 94:689-95. 2005.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11150011

Fatalities due to anaphylactic reactions to foods.

Bock SA, Muñoz-Furlong A, Sampson HA.
Author information

• Department of Pediatrics, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO, USA.

Abstract

Fatal anaphylactic reactions to foods are continuing to occur, and better characterization might lead to better prevention. The objective of this report is to document the ongoing deaths and characterize these fatalities. We analyzed 32 fatal cases reported to a national registry, which was established by the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, with the assistance of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, and for which adequate data could be collected. Data were collected from multiple sources including a structured questionnaire, which was used to determine the cause of death and associated factors. The 32 individuals could be divided into 2 groups. Group 1 had sufficient data to identify peanut as the responsible food in 14 (67%) and tree nuts in 7 (33%) of cases. In group 2 subjects, 6 (55%) of the fatalities were probably due to peanut, 3 (27%) to tree nuts, and the other 2 cases were probably due to milk and fish (1 [9%] each). The sexes were equally affected; most victims were adolescents or young adults, and all but 1 subject were known to have food allergy before the fatal event. In those subjects for whom data were available, all but 1 was known to have asthma, and most of these individuals did not have epinephrine available at the time of their fatal reaction. Fatalities due to ingestion of allergenic foods in susceptible individuals remain a major health problem. In this series, peanuts and tree nuts accounted for more than 90% of the fatalities. Improved education of the profession, allergic individuals, and the public will be necessary to stop these tragedies

http://www.aaaai.org/global/latest-r...aphylaxis.aspx

Anaphylaxis is a rapid-onset, potentially life-threatening systemic allergic reaction that can affect people of any age or sex. Current guidelines endorse aggressive therapy reflecting the possibility that any episode of anaphylaxis has the potential to cause death. However, the actual risk of death is unclear.

In a recent article published in The Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology (JACI), Ma et al. examined the fatality rate among hospitalization or emergency department (ED) presentations for anaphylaxis and the mortality rate associated with anaphylaxis for the general population. This was a population-based epidemiologic study using 3 national databases: Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS, 1999-2009), Nationwide ED Sample (NEDS, 2006-2009), and Multiple Cause of Death Data (MCDD, 1999-2009). Sources for these databases were hospital, ED discharge records and death certificates, respectively.

The authors found that case fatality rates were between 0.25% and 0.33% among hospitalizations or ED presentations with anaphylaxis as the principal diagnosis. These rates represent a total of between 63 and 99 deaths per year in the US, ~77% of which occurred in hospitalized patients. Rate of anaphylaxis hospitalizations rose from 21.0 to 25.1 per million population between 1999 and 2009. However, overall mortality rates appeared stable in the last decade and ranged from 0.63 to 0.76 per million population (186 to 225 deaths per year).

These results suggest that the overwhelming majority of hospitalizations or ED presentations for anaphylaxis did not result in death, with an average case fatality rate of 0.3%. Nationwide, despite the increase of anaphylaxis incidence, it is also reassuring that mortality rates associated with anaphylaxis have remained stable in the last decade and were well under 1 per million person-years. Both these observations likely reflect the quality of care that can be provided in the urgent care setting. Although anaphylactic reactions are potentially life threatening, the probability of dying is very low, especially for those cases that involve ED or hospital attention.