Elevated serum cytokines during human anaphylaxis: Identification of potential mediators of acute allergic reactions

This study confirms that the concentrations of a number of cytokines are elevated in blood during anaphylaxis in human beings and that some correlate with the presence of hypotension. Others were only marginally elevated within a concentration range that available assays do not reliably detect. During respiratory reactions, mediators may be largely confined to the airways so that blood concentrations do not reflect activity.