Disease or Syndrome
serum sickness
se·rum sick·ness
Subclass of:
Immune Complex Diseases;
Drug Eruptions
Definitions related to serum sickness:
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A systemic, immune complex mediated hypersensitivity reaction to injected foreign or autologous protein that usually presents four to ten days after exposure and resolves on its own. Manifestations may include fever, joint pain, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.NICHD Pediatric TerminologyU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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Delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to foreign proteins derived from an animal serum. It occurs approximately six to twenty one days following the administration of the foreign antigen. Symptoms include fever, arthralgias, myalgias, skin eruptions, lymphadenopathy, chest pain, and dyspnea. Certain drugs (e.g., antibiotics, anticancer agents, and anti-inflammatory medications) and infectious disorders (e.g., hepatitis B) may also cause serum sickness-like reaction.NCI ThesaurusU.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
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Immune complex disease caused by the administration of foreign serum or serum proteins and characterized by fever, lymphadenopathy, arthralgia, and urticaria; when they are complexed to protein carriers, some drugs can also cause serum sickness when they act as haptens inducing antibody responses.CRISP ThesaurusNational Institutes of Health, 2006
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A disorder characterized by a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction to foreign proteins derived from an animal serum. It occurs approximately six to twenty-one days following the administration of the foreign antigen. Symptoms include fever, arthralgias, myalgias, skin eruptions, lymphadenopathy, chest marked discomfort and dyspnea.Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse EventsU.S. National Institutes of Health, 2021
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Serum sickness is a type III hypersensitivity reaction that results from the injection of heterologous or foreign protein or serum. Reactions secondary to the administration of nonprotein drugs are clinically similar to serum sickness reactions.WebMD, 2019
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Serum sickness, an allergic reaction to animal serum or antiserum injected into an individual's blood to provide immunity against such illnesses as tetanus, botulism, and snake-venom poisoning. Symptoms include skin eruption, itching, swelling of the face and extremities, fever, joint pain and...Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2020
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