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Case Reports
. 2019 Aug 1;9(4):e29.
doi: 10.5415/apallergy.2019.9.e29. eCollection 2019 Oct.

Chlorhexidine: a hidden life-threatening allergen

Mara Fernandes  1   2 , Tatiana Lourenço  1 , Anabela Lopes  1 , Amélia Spínola Santos  1 , Maria Conceição Pereira Santos  3   4 , Manuel Pereira Barbosa  1   4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Chlorhexidine: a hidden life-threatening allergen

Mara Fernandes et al. Asia Pac Allergy. .

Abstract

Chlorhexidine is a commonly used antiseptic and disinfectant in the health-care setting. Anaphylaxis to chlorhexidine is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication. Epidemiologic data suggest that the cases of chlorhexidine allergy appears to be increasing. In this article we report a life-threatening anaphylactic shock with cardiorespiratory arrest, during urethral catheterization due to chlorhexidine. The authors also performed a literature review of PubMed library of anaphylactic cases reports due to this antiseptic between 2014 and 2018, demonstrating the increase in the number of cases occurring worldwide and the importance of detailed anamnesis and appropriate diagnostic workup of allergic reactions to disinfectants.

Keywords: Allergy; Anaphylaxis; Chlorhexidine.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Basophil activation test performed in whole blood. (A) Identification of basophil population in the lymphocyte-monocyte gate a SSC/CD203c+. (B) Flow cytometry dot plots of CD63 expression (%) on CD123+/HLA-DR-/CD203c+ cells. (C) Histogram showing the mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) median of CD203c expression. SI, stimulation index (ratio of stimulated/unstimulated basophils).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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