Muscle relaxants and histamine release.
Many anaesthetic drugs and adjuvants can cause the release of histamine by chemical (anaphylactoid) or immunologic (anaphylactic) mechanisms. While both types of reactions can be clinically indistinguishable, they are mechanistically different. In anaphylactoid reactions, only preformed mediators are released, of which histamine may be the most clinically important. In true immunologic reactions, mast cell degranulation occurs, and many vasoactive substances (including histamine) are released. Clinical signs and symptoms of both classes of reactions include hypotension (most common), tachycardia, bronchospasm, or cutaneous manifestations. Anaphylactoid reactions may occur commonly under anaesthesia in response to many drugs, including induction agents, some opiates, plasma expanders, and curariform relaxants. Anaphylactic reactions are far less common than anaphylactoid reactions, but they nevertheless represent more than half of the life-threatening reactions that occur in anaesthetic practice. Muscle relaxants are the most frequently implicated class of drugs; suxamethonium is the most common agent implicated in anaphylactic reactions during anaesthesia, but even drugs without apparent chemical histamine release (i.e., vecuronium) are frequently implicated in anaphylactic reactions.
Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Clinical Pharmacology, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago, IL, USA.
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Moss
D000707:Anaphylaxis / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000276:immunology; D001986:Bronchial Spasm / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology; D015550:Cell Degranulation; D004342:Drug Hypersensitivity / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology; D006636:Histamine Release; D006801:Humans; D007022:Hypotension / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000276:immunology; D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D009467:Neuromuscular Depolarizing Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D003473:Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology; D013390:Succinylcholine / Q000009:adverse effects; D013610:Tachycardia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology; D014673:Vecuronium Bromide / Q000009:adverse effects
D009466:Neuromuscular Blocking Agents; D009467:Neuromuscular Depolarizing Agents; D003473:Neuromuscular Nondepolarizing Agents; D014673:Vecuronium Bromide; D013390:Succinylcholine