Angela Carmezim Mota, Filipa Pereira, Judite Guimaraes, Esmeralda Neves, Paula Sa, Miguel Paiva, Julio Guimaraes and Humberto Machado
Perioperative anaphylaxis is an important cause of anesthesia-related mortality and morbidity. The true incidence is unknown and is most likely under reported, but it is believed to be a rare event. Diagnosis can be challenging, particularly because the cause is difficult to identify as a number of drugs commonly used simultaneously can potentially be the cause and they can also mask its manifestations. We report a case of propofol-induced anaphylaxis during the induction of anesthesia in a 77 y-old woman proposed for an orthopedic procedure. The patient was thoroughly studied with immunoallergologic testing that proved that propofol was the underlying cause of this IgE-mediated anaphylactic event.