Cefaclor anaphylaxis in children

We studied all children ranging in age from 3 to 14 years with histories of immediate reactions to b-lactams seen in the allergy unit of the Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria A. Meyer between January 1998 and December 2006. Thirteen (5.1%) of 253 had an anaphylactic reaction (8 to cefaclor, 2 to ceftriaxone, 2 to amoxicillin and 1 to benzyl-penicillin). Anaphylaxis was diagnosed according to the clinical criteria proposed by Sampson et al. (6). With regard to the eight children with cefaclor-induced anaphylaxis, all experienced symptoms within 30 min after cefaclor ingestion.anaphylactic reactions to cefaclor in children are not so rare as previously believed, especially in Italy. For this reason, cefaclor therapy in children should only be considered after a careful individual risk/benefit evaluation, as recently advised by the AIFA (