serum sickness
Sign in to savenegative reaction against proteins which are contained in a specific serum
Key facts
- Specialty
- Hematology
- Symptoms
- rash , joint pain, fever , lymphadenopathy (swelling of lymph nodes)
- Causes
- antiserum , some drugs
- Diagnostic method
- symptoms, blood test (low cell counts and complement protein counts), urine test
- Differential diagnosis
- lupus , erythema multiforme , hives
- Prevention
- not using non-human antitoxins, prophylactic antihistamines or corticosteroids
- Treatment
- resolves spontaneously
- Medication
- corticosteroids , antihistamines , analgesics , prednisone
- Prognosis
- good
via Wikipedia infobox
Health references
- ICD-10
- T80.61XA — Other serum reaction due to administration of blood and blood products, initial encounter
- MedlinePlus
- Consumer health page →
Research
2,943 papers- Serum Sickness-Like Reactions Clinical Characteristics and Management: A Systematic Review.The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice · 2025
- Serum sickness.Annals of allergy · 1986
- Serum Sickness.The New England journal of medicine · 2023
- [Serum sickness].Ryoikibetsu shokogun shirizu · 2000
- Serum sickness syndrome.American family physician · 1986
via PubMed
Clinical Trials
29 registered- NAUNKNOWNSerum and Peritoneal Concentration in Antibiotics During the Surgical Management of PeritonitisCentral Hospital, Nancy, France · NCT03310606
- COMPLETEDThe Effectiveness of Urine mtDNA and Beta 2-MG to Predict Acute Kidney Injury for Critically Ill Surgical PatientsWonju Severance Christian Hospital · NCT05458063
- NOT_YET_RECRUITINGSOFA Score with Serum Procalcitonin Versus SOFA Score with Neutrophil/lymphocyte Ratio in Predicting Sepsis and Clinical Outcomes in I.C.U.Ain Shams University · NCT06847477
- PHASE3COMPLETEDA Safety and Immune Study of 2 Types of GlaxoSmithKline's Varicella Vaccines Given as a 2-doses Course to Healthy Children 12-23 Months of Age.GlaxoSmithKline · NCT02570126
- COMPLETEDSerum TNF-a in Comparison to Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) Score Monitoring in Critically Ill PatientsTanta University · NCT01708772
- PHASE2UNKNOWNEfficacy of Testosterone Gel to Restore Normal Serum Values of Testosterone During the Acute Phase of Critical Illness in Adult ICU PatientsUniversity Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand · NCT03678233
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- disease
- Subclass of
- type III hypersensitivity
Show 3 more facts
- health specialty
- emergency medicine
- Commons category
- Serum sickness
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C79718
via Wikidata · CC0
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Serum sickness in humans is a reaction to proteins in antiserum derived from a non-human animal source, occurring an average of 12 days after exposure. Symptoms often include a rash, joint pain, fever, and lymphadenopathy. It is a type of hypersensitivity, specifically immune complex hypersensitivity (type III). The term serum sickness–like reaction (SSLR) is occasionally used to refer to similar illnesses that arise from the introduction of certain non-protein substances, such as penicillin.
Serum sickness may be diagnosed based on the symptoms, and using a blood test and a urine test. It may be prevented by not using an antitoxin derived from animal serum, and through prophylactic antihistamines or corticosteroids. It usually resolves naturally, but may be treated with corticosteroids, antihistamines, analgesics, and (in severe cases) prednisone. It was first characterized in 1905.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “serum sickness” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.