Diagnosis and Treatment of Perioperative Allergic Complications: A Practical Review

Abstract

Background: Reported drug allergies are commonly encountered by surgeons and can lead to uncertainty in selecting an appropriate agent due to concerns of associated risks with related and cross-reactive drugs. This uncertainty can ultimately lead to increased infection rates. Methods: A literature review was conducted in PubMed using a combination of the terms “allergy,” “allergic reaction,” “anaphylaxis,” and “surgery,” “surgical,” or “operating room” for articles published within the last 10 years. Publications identified with these search terms were then filtered for review articles, sorted by “best match,” and a maximum of 100 articles were manually reviewed for each combination of search terms. Results: Search results yielded 46,484 articles, 676 of which were ultimately included for manual review, based on selection criteria. Specifically, articles selected for inclusion focused on surgical allergic reactions that were either related to mechanism of action, causative agent for the allergic reaction, timing of allergic reaction, or recommendations for appropriate management. Conclusions: Allergic reactions can be a common occurrence in the operative room. Knowledge of likely causative agents, timing of a reaction to various agents, and appropriate management in the immediate and delayed setting can improve outcomes and safety for plastic surgery patients.