Case of anaphylaxis induced by rocuronium treated with sugammadex

Anaphylaxis during anesthesia is a rare event that may occur in up to 1:20,000 cases and approximately 60% to 70% of these cases are secondary to the use of muscle relaxants, particularly succinylcholine and rocuronium. The aim of this report is to describe the treatment of a case of rocuronium-induced anaphylaxis with inadequate response to traditional therapy, and the case resolution after using sugammadex.

A female patient, 62 years old, 72kg, was referred to the surgical center for treatment of epidural hematoma following an accident at home. She was monitored with pulse oximetry, cardioscope, and blood pressure meter for non-invasive blood pressure (BP) measurement. The baseline data were: BP 138/80 mm Hg, heart rate (HR) 80 bpm, and oxygen saturation (SaO(2)) 100% on room air. Anesthesia was induced with propofol 70 mg, fentanyl 200mg, and rocuronium 45 mg. After tracheal intubation, anaphylaxis non-responsive to conventional treatment was diagnosed. We chose the use of sugammadex 700 mg intravenously as an adjuvant agent. The patient had reversal of the anaphylactic reactions with improvement of hemodynamic profile and was operated and conducted to the intensive care unit.

In this case, sugammadex was used to reverse the hemodynamic picture caused by rocuronium-induced anaphylaxis. However, it was not possible to identify the exact mechanism for the reversal.