• Ramin Fathi, Marc Serota, and Mariah Brown.
• Department of Dermatology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado.
• Dermatol Surg. 2016 Feb 1; 42 (2): 147-56.

BackgroundLocal anesthetic (LA) allergy is a concern for dermatologic surgeons given the large number of procedures performed yearly with LAs. Many patients also have anxiety about past or potential anesthesia allergy.ObjectiveThis article will review the symptoms of IgE-mediated allergic reactions, the prevalence of IgE-mediated LA allergy, discuss common mimics of LA, and propose a practical approach for diagnostic and therapeutic options for LA allergy for the dermatologic surgeon in practice.Materials And MethodsA literature search of Pubmed using keywords "lidocaine," "local anesthetic," "hypersensitivity," and "allergy" was performed.ResultsAmide anesthetics result in the most reports of true local anesthetic immediate hypersensitivity.ConclusionTrue IgE-mediated anaphylaxis to local anesthesia is very rare. Dermatologic surgeons should be aware of the symptoms of anesthetic allergy and its mimickers, as well as how to manage allergic reactions in their clinical practice.

18 keywords...

hide…