Anaphylaxis during surgery

Continuous monitoring means the team may detect sudden low blood pressure, changes in oxygenation, or difficulty ventilating while the patient is unable to report symptoms.

A reaction may follow a medicine or material used before or during the operation. The review can include antibiotics, anaesthetic drugs, muscle relaxants, antiseptic skin preparations, latex, dyes, surgical glues, and other products documented in the operating record.

The trigger cannot be identified reliably from timing alone because several exposures may occur close together. A detailed event timeline guides later specialist assessment and helps distinguish anaphylaxis from bleeding, heart problems, or other causes of sudden deterioration.

Team members call for help, remove a suspected exposure where feasible, administer adrenaline and oxygen, give intravenous fluids, and manage the airway. They reassess repeatedly and decide whether the operation must stop, can be completed urgently, or should be postponed.

Once the patient is stable, the theatre record preserves product names, medicine doses, exposure times, symptoms, and response to treatment. These details are more useful for future planning than an unsupported allergy label covering every drug used that day.

Monitoring continues after the immediate crisis because airway swelling, wheezing, or low blood pressure may persist or return. While recovering, alert staff at once to breathing difficulty, facial or tongue swelling, faintness, new widespread hives, or repeated vomiting.

After discharge, recurring symptoms require emergency care. Keep the written event summary accessible and avoid specifically suspected products until an allergy specialist and surgical team clarify the plan.

Ask for copies of the anaesthetic chart, operation record, and discharge summary. Discuss which products need targeted allergy assessment, which alternatives are suitable, and how the findings will reach your surgeon, anaesthetist, dentist, and other clinicians before any procedure.