Hospitalizations from angioedema, a serious swelling of the deep layers of the skin often around the eyes and mouth, are on the rise, new research finds.

Researchers from New York Downtown Hospital searched a national database for hospitalizations due to allergic reactions including hives, anaphylaxis (a potentially fatal whole-body reaction) and angiodema.

While hospitalization rates for the other allergic reactions stayed the same from 2000 to 2009, angioedema rates doubled, according to the study, scheduled for presentation Tuesday at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology meeting in Orlando.

Adverse reactions to ACE-inhibitors, a blood pressure medication, could be part of the problem, said lead study author Robert Lin in an academy news release.

Being black, having congestive heart failure, kidney disease, asthma and older age were also associated with a greater risk of angioedema.

Experts note that research presented at meetings has not been subjected to the same type of rigorous scrutiny given to research published in peer-reviewed medical journals and should be considered preliminary.

More information

For more on angioedema, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

– Alan Mozes

SOURCE: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, news release, March 4, 2012

Last Updated: March 06, 2012