چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background: Skin tests for neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) are not currently recommended for
the general population undergoing general anaesthesia. In a previous study we have reported a high
incidence of positive allergy tests for NMBAs in patients with a positive history of non-anaesthetic drug
allergy, a larger prospective study being needed to confirm those preliminary results. The objective of
this study was to compare the skin tests results for patients with a positive history of antibiotic-induced
immediate type hypersensitivity reactions to those of controls without drug allergies.
Methods: Ninety eight patients with previous antibiotic hypersensitivity and 72 controls were prospectively
included. Skin tests were performed for atracurium, pancuronium, rocuronium, and
suxamethonium.
Results: We found 65 positive skin tests from the 392 tests performed in patients with a positive history
of antibiotic hypersensitivity (1 6.58%) and 23 positive skin tests from the 288 performed in controls
(7.98%), the two incidences showing significant statistical difference (p ¼ 0.0011). The relative risk for
having a positive skin test for NMBAs for patients versus controls was 1.77 (1.15e2.76). For atracurium,
skin tests were more often positive in patients with a positive history of antibiotic hypersensitivity versus
controls (p ¼ 0.02). For pancuronium, rocuronium and suxamethonium the statistical difference was not
attained (p-values 0.08 for pancuronium, 0.23 for rocuronium, and 0.26 for suxamethonium).
Conclusions: Patients with a positive history of antibiotic hypersensitivity seem to have a higher incidence
of positive skin tests for NMBAs. They might represent a group at higher risk for developing
intraoperative anaphylaxis compared to the general population.