Retrospective Evaluation of Demographic, Clinical, Laboratory Findings and Inflammatory Biomarkers of Patients Followed with the Diagnosis of Serum Sickness-Like Reaction

Objectives: Serum Sickness-like Reactions (SSLR) are Type 3 hypersensitivity reactions occurring in the presence of certain antigens. Symptoms generally begin 6-21 days after the exposure to antigenic stimulation. In the present study, the purpose was to examine whether there are any changes in these hematological parameters and their prognostic significance in patients diagnosed with SSLR and followed and treated in our clinic. Methods: The files of 122 patients who were hospitalized and followed up with a diagnosis of SSLR in the Pediatric Healthcare and Diseases Clinic between September 2016 and December 2021 were examined retrospectively. Results: A total of 64 (52.5%) of the patients were male, 58 (47.5%) were female. The age distribution of the patients varied between 14 months and 213 months. When the clinical findings of the patients who were included in the study were examined, 110 (90.20%) had arthralgia, 100 (82.0%) had a skin rash, 79 (64.8%) had arthritis, 45 (36.90%) had lymphadenopathy, 42 (34.4%) had fever, and 17 (13.90%) had abdominal pain. A total of 23 (18.9%) of the patients who were included in the study had a family history of allergy and 86 (70.5%) patients had a history of infection before the disease. Of these, 72 had upper respiratory tract infection, 10 had acute gastroenteritis, 2 had soft tissue infection, and 2 had urinary tract infection. Prior to the diagnosis, 60 (49.18%) of the patients had a history of drug use and 49 of these patients (81.60%) had a history of antibiotic use. Conclusions: In our present day, the increasing number of antigenic stimuli and the widespread use of antibiotics cause SSLR to be detected often. This suggests that biomarkers can be used as important markers of inflammation in the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with SSLR.