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A 34-year-old woman referred episodes of gastrointestinal disorders and sometimes angioedema of the lips which appeared within 2 hours from the ingestion of packed food like biscuits, cereals or fruit juice. A patch test with the standard European series and with food preservatives was positive for fragrances mix. The avoidance of packed food labelled as containing flavours among the ingredients caused the disappearance of the above reported symptoms.

Summary We present the case of bronchospastic reaction to clarithromycin had during a drug challenge test Personal allergic history was negative for respiratory allergies and positive for adverse drug reactions to general and regional anesthesia and to ceftriaxone After the administration of 1/4 of therapeutic dose of clarithromycin the patient showed dyspnea, cough and bronchospasm in all the lung fields The positivity of the test was confirmed by the negativity to the administration of placebo The quickness and the clinical characteristic of the adverse reaction suggest a pathogenic mechanism of immediate-type hypersensitivity On reviewing the literature we have found no reports of bronchospastic reaction to clarithromycin Macrolides are a class of antibiotics mainly used in the last years in place of b-lactams because of a broad spectrum of action and a low allergic power. In fact, there are few reports on allergic reactions to these molecules Clarithromycin is one of the latest macrolides, characterised by the presence of a 14-carbon-atom lactone ring as erythromycin, active on a wide spectrum of pathogens

In order to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of lodoxamide in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis, the authors conducted a double-blind trial with intrapatient comparison on 32 patients, using lodoxamide versus spaglumic acid in the course of two conjunctival provocation tests performed with specific allergens. The patients received one drop of lodoxamide in one eye and one drop of spaglumic acid in the other; 15 minutes later, 25 microliters of allergen extract at a pre-established concentration was instilled. After 10 minutes, the signs and symptoms of the allergic response were evaluated and recorded. Six hours later, the instillation of the allergen extract in both eyes was repeated following the same procedure, to establish the duration of the effect of the two drugs. The results, obtained by evaluating the main clinical signs and symptoms (itching, lacrimation, hyperaemia, palpebral oedema and chemosis), demonstrate with statistically significant differences that lodoxamide inhibits the conjunctival response to exposure to the allergen with greater efficacy than spaglumic acid, and for a longer duration. The two drugs provided similar and satisfactory tolerability. In view of these results, lodoxamide can definitely be considered and effective drug in the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis.