Psychological Distress and Drug Provocation Test-Related Anxiety Levels of Pediatric Patients and Their Parents

Background: Drug provocation tests (DPTs) are the gold standard for the diagnosis of drug hypersensitivity reaction (DHR). To the best of our knowledge, there is no previous study reporting DPT-related anxiety levels in children and their parents. This study aimed to determine the difference in pre- and post-DPT anxiety levels of parents and children who were informed of the possibility of another DHR during the DPT, and to evaluate the relationship between parental psychological distress and anxiety levels. Methods: The study included children who underwent DPT in our clinic between July 1, 2019, and February 29, 2020, and accompanying parents who consented to participate. Age-appropriate State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scales were used to assess levels of state and trait anxiety in the patients and parents. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R) was used to screen for psychological symptoms in parents. Results: Data were collected from the parents of 69 children who underwent DPTs. The patients' median age was 7.28 (interquartile range: 4.52-10.06) and their parents' mean age was 35.28 ± 5.38 years. Anxiety-related data were collected from 21 pediatric patients. The children and parents had higher state anxiety scores before DPT compared to after DPT. There was a positive correlation between the parents' trait anxiety and pre-DPT state anxiety scores. In addition, parental pre-DPT state anxiety scores were positively correlated with SCL-90-R general severity index, somatization, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, and depression subscale scores. Conclusion: The risk of allergic reaction in DPT may cause anxiety. A high level of parental anxiety before DPT, which gradually decreased after negative test results, was associated with history of drug-induced anaphylaxis in their children and high trait anxiety. Appropriate evaluation of patients and parents before DPT and providing detailed information may be important to reduce this anxiety.