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Surgical infections · Jun 2012
Review Case ReportsAnaphylaxis to chlorhexidine-coated central venous catheters: a case series and review of the literature.
- Achyut Guleri, Abhishek Kumar, Richard J M Morgan, Mike Hartley, and David H Roberts.
- Department of Clinical Microbiology, Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Blackpool, Lancashire, UK. Dr.Guleri@bfwh.nhs.uk
- Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2012 Jun 1; 13 (3): 171-4.
BackgroundAnaphylactic reactions to chlorhexidine are rare but are being reported increasingly in association with a variety of products.MethodsWe report three cases of anaphylaxis to chlorhexidine in patients presenting for cardiac surgery.ResultsIn each case, anaphylaxis was precipitated by the insertion of a central venous catheter impregnated with chlorhexidine acetate. Subsequent investigations confirmed chlorhexidine as the causal agent.ConclusionExtensive use of chlorhexidine to reduce hospital-acquired infections has the potential to sensitize a small proportion of patients, leading to life-threatening anaphylaxis on subsequent exposure.
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