[Heart arrest during dextran infusion despite hapten blockade]

In a running clinical prospective study on the incidence of adverse reactions to colloidal polysaccharides (randomised, single blind, n = 300) a bronchospasm followed by cardiac arrest occurred during dextran infusion although the necessary hapten blockage with monovalent dextran-1 had been effected. Resuscitation was successful. Directly after this, surgery was carried out as planned under general anaesthesia. The 69-year-old patient was discharged without noticeable sequelae. For the first time in the literature on dextran the studied sample allows a generalisation: The event occurred with an incidence of about 0.9% (of 116 patients who had received dextran infusion). This incidence corresponds to a confidence interval ranging from 0.02 to 4.96%. If the study would be continued as planned, the upper limit of this interval signals the probability of another case of severe intolerance. The diagnosis "dextran adverse reaction" can be made in this case by clinical symptoms. Since no previous or concomitant medication had been administered as provided in the protocol to confirm the diagnosis as an adverse reaction to dextran by determination of the titer of dextran antibodies prior to infusion is not required and it may be concluded that dextran was the causative agent.