Anaphylaxis and anaesthesia

Abstract

Anaphylaxis is defined as ‘a severe life-threatening, generalised or systemic hypersensitivity reaction’.¹ The recent 6^th National Audit Project (NAP6) in the United Kingdom (UK) defined perioperative anaphylaxis as ‘anaphylaxis which occurs in patients undergoing a procedure requiring general or regional anaesthesia or sedation or managed anaesthesia care (anaesthesia monitoring only) under the care of an anaesthetist between the period of first administration of a drug (including premedication) and the post-procedure transfer to a ward, or critical care’.² This short narrative review will discuss the recent NAP6 results in the context of current knowledge, as relevant to the South African anaesthetist.