[Successful therapy of a severe dextran incident using histamin H1- and H2-receptor blockaders]

A case of a severe systemic anaphylactoid reaction is reported in a patient treated with dextran 60 to prevent venous thrombosis. Significant improvement of clinical symptoms occurred after the usual treatment of such incidents with corticosteroids, histamine H1 receptor antagonists, and plasma substitutes was supplemented with a histamine H2 receptor antagonist. We would therefore like to recommend that for such cases a histamine H2 receptor antagonist should be given in addition to the usual medication with corticosteroids and histamine H1 receptor antagonists. However, the value of complete histamine antagonism in these rather rare occurrences, can only be determined after furtherexperience has been gained.