Suspected allergy to local anaesthetics: follow‐up in 135 cases

Background: Local anaesthetics (LA) are generally considered safe with respect to allergy. However, various clinical reactions steadily occur. Even though most reactions are manifestations of reflexes to perceptive stimuli, uncertainty often remains regarding a possible allergic mechanism. This uncertainty later leads to an avoidance of local anaesthesia and unnecessarily painful interventions, resource‐consuming general anaesthesia or even the risk of re‐exposure to other yet unidentified allergens. In the present study, follow‐up procedures at an allergy clinic were analysed to examine the frequency of identified causative agents and pathogenetic mechanisms and evaluate the strength of the diagnostic conclusions.

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