Allergic reactions during anaesthesia

You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.

The incidence of life-threatening hypersensitivity reactions occurring during anaesthesia is around one in 10,000 procedures. Muscle relaxants are involved in over two thirds of the cases. Antibiotic administration is a frequent cause.

The mortality rate from these reactions is about 3-6%.

Successful immediate treatment requires prompt recognition by the attending anaesthetist. Adrenaline (epinephrine) remains the mainstay of treatment, with corticosteroids and antihistamines providing limited benefit in the acute situation.

Subsequent investigation aims to determine the responsible agent to allow its future avoidance. Skin testing is often useful to identify potentially cross-reactive compounds and appropriate therapeutic alternatives. This is done weeks after the initial reaction to allow the immune system to reset itself. However, skin testing can be misleading in giving false positive and false negative results.