Hypersensitivity to the local anesthetic articaine hydrochloride

A patient developed skin erythema and wheals within 1 h after local dental anesthesia with articaine hydrochloride. Pretreatment with oral terfenadine or topical betamethasone dipropionate prevented her reaction to articaine. In contrast, neither pretreatment with oral aspirin nor topical capsaicin affected her reaction to articaine. The results of radioallergosorbent tests (RAST) to articaine and a passive transfer test were negative. The reaction was probably caused by a complement-mediated mechanism leading to the degranulation of mast cells. The patient tolerated local anesthesia with lidocaine.