General Anesthesia in a Patient With Urticaria Pigmentosa Referred for Electroconvulsive Therapy

Urticaria pigmentosa is a rare disorder characterized by an abnormal systemic proliferation of mast cells. In this condition, various triggers can induce either cutaneous histamine release, resulting in rash, or generalized histamine release, resulting in symptomatic hypotension, syncope, or in its severest form, an anaphylactoid reaction resistant to most resuscitative measures. Many anesthetic agents and adjuncts are known potential triggers, and patients who require surgery or procedures under anesthesia must be managed carefully. In this review, we describe the safe use of general anesthesia for electroconvulsive therapy in a patient with urticaria pigmentosa and discuss the association between psychiatric disorders and mastocytoses.