An adult case of oral allergy syndrome with anaphylactic shock due to lychee

Abstract

A 26-year-old woman with a history of allergy to mangos and several kinds of spices developed anaphylactic shock after eating lychee. Oral tickling and itching of the throat preceded anaphylactic shock. Prick tests showed a positive reaction to lychee. Using patient's serum FEIA was positive to lychee and some kinds of pollen including mugwort pollen. Our diagnosis indicated that this patient suffered from oral allergy syndrome with anaphylactic shock due to lychee. This patient had a history of nasal allergy, anaphylactic shock due to mangos and skin symptoms such as itching and a rash after eating foods including hot spices. Some allergens of lychee are known to have a common epitope of the IgE and show cross-reactivity to allergens of other foods such as fruit, vegetables and spices. We speculated that the allergic symptoms of this case were caused by pathogenesis of pollen fruit syndrome due to profilin, which was a common allergen among foods which had made this patient ill in the past.