World Allergy Organization Grading System for Systemic Allergic Reactions: it Is Time to Speak the Same Language When it Comes to Allergic Reactions

• Published in: Current treatment options in allergy Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 388 - 395
• Main Authors: Sánchez-Borges, Mario, Ansotegui, Ignacio, Cox, Linda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Allergens; Allergies; Allergology; Anaphylaxis; Classification; Clinical trials; Confounding (Statistics); Design; Drug dosages; Emergency medical care; Family Medicine; Food; General Practice; Immunotherapy; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Patients; Pharmaceutical industry; Physicians; Public health; Section Editor; Specific Immunotherapy (L Cox; Topical Collection on Specific Immunotherapy; Severity; Anaphylaxis; Allergic reaction; Systemic allergic reaction
• ISSN: 2196-3053; 2196-3053
• DOI: 10.1007/s40521-019-00229-8

Purpose of review To discuss current methods for grading severe allergic reactions (SARs) in view of the new WAO modified classification system. Recent findings While there is not universally accepted system for classifying SAR severity, and due to the high degree of heterogeneity and difficulties for comparisons between the various methods, the new WAO proposal is simple, suitable for use in clinical practice and universally applicable for all allergic reactions, covering the full spectrum of possible grades of severity. Summary There is a requirement for a simple and comprehensive system to classify systemic allergic reaction severity. The modification to WAO’s classification of SARs to allergen immunotherapy recently proposed by Cox et al. constitutes an important contribution in the goal of obtaining useful and helpful information for all involved stakeholders.