Critical care drugs: Ecallantide

摘要

A rare genetic disorder, hereditary angioedema (HAE) afflicts about 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 50,000 people. It's characterized by severe and often painful edema that most often occurs in the extremities, face, gastrointestinal tract, or larynx. Laryngeal edema may lead to death from asphyxiation. HAE attacks are recurrent and usually unpredictable. The frequency of attacks varies widely; some patients experience weekly episodes, others may not have an attack for a year