Immunology of Adverse Drug Reactions

Adverse reactions to drugs often include an immunologic response. An understanding of immunologic mechanisms is useful in understanding the clinical manifestations of drug allergy. Predisposing factors to the development of allergic reactions to drugs include host factors as well as drug factors. Immune response relates to what we know about the components of the immune system as well as their differentiation and maturation processes. Immunologic reactions are often classified as Type I, Type II, Type III or Type IV, and these reaction types often correlate with clinical manifestations. For each reaction type the mechanism, drugs implicated, clinical manifestations, and treatment can be described.