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Published on: August 18, 2016
Kounis syndrome or allergic coronary vasospasm in a two-year-old
Brodie Parent1, Peter Wearden, Nicholas G Kounis
1University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, 45th and Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15201, USA.
Abstract:
Kounis syndrome is coronary vasospasm because of mast cell degranulation in the context of an allergic reaction. The syndrome has known associations with several drugs used during anesthesia, including rocuronium and isoflurane. In this case report, we discuss a 2-year-old patient who developed signs and symptoms of an acute coronary syndrome soon after anesthesia for atrial septal defect repair. A diagnostic angiography after the episode revealed diffusely small coronary arteries. Subsequent angiography after clinical improvement showed essentially normal coronary anatomy. We report the clinical course of this patient and postulate that Kounis syndrome was the explanation for his transient coronary vasospasm. To date, this is the youngest known patient with reported Kounis syndrome.
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