Anaphylaxis diagnosis and management

Background: Anaphylaxis is an acute, generalized, potentially life-threatening, severe allergic reaction. It is critical to recognize the signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis as early as possible and initiate immediate treatment. Epinephrine is the drug of choice to treat anaphylaxis.Current Concepts: The World Allergy Organization (WAO) revised and updated its diagnostic criteria for anaphylaxis in 2020. Previous criteria were proposed by the 2005 United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease/Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network Symposium, which were subsequently adopted by the WAO in 2011 and have contributed greatly to improving the diagnosis and treatment of anaphylaxis. The updated diagnostic criteria were adopted by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and began to be implemented in 2021.Discussion and Conclusion: The two diagnostic criteria share the common goal of immediate recognition of anaphylaxis allowing prompt patient treatment. The updated WAO Diagnostic Criteria for Anaphylaxis 2024 have been simplified to cover more clinical situations potentially involving anaphylaxis. Physicians should be aware of anaphylaxis diagnosis and management procedures so that they are prepared to save patient lives.