ABSTRACT
In the professional lifetime of the average anesthesiologist, a lifethreatening allergic reaction will happen only once or twice. Current peer and patient expectation is of a polished clinical performance: rapid diagnosis and treatment and full patient recovery. This chapter will provide the theoretical and practical framework for this perfect response to a rare emergency. While advances in molecular biology have greatly increased our knowledge of probable mechanisms, the best advice we have on treatment is very anecdotal, and diagnostic methods remain rudimentary.
