The following is a summary of “United States Drug Allergy Registry (USDAR) grading scale for immediate drug reactions,” published in the December 2023 issue of Allergy & Immunology by Khan, et al.
The absence of a widely accepted grading system for immediate reactions to drugs prompted the United States Drug Allergy Registry (USDAR) Consortium to develop a consensus severity grading system.
For a study, researchers sought to present the proposed grading system collaboratively established by drug allergy experts within the USDAR.
The USDAR investigators worked towards creating a consensus severity grading system applicable to both clinical care and research for immediate drug reactions.
The USDAR grading scale ranges from 0 to 4. A grade of no reaction (NR) confirmed a negative challenge result. Grade 0 indicated primarily subjective complaints, suggesting a low likelihood of a true drug allergic reaction. Grades 1 to 4 represented positive challenge results indicative of a drug allergy. Grade 1 implied potential immediate drug reaction with mild symptoms, grade 2 signified moderate severity, grade 3 suggested severe allergic reactions, and grade 4 included life-threatening reactions like anaphylactic shock and fatal anaphylaxis.
This proposed grading schema for immediate drug reactions stands out for its specificity and ease of implementation in clinical and research settings, enhancing previous schemata in this context.
Source: jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(23)01071-0/fulltext