Preoperative survey to evaluate the patients' allergy list and its relevance to perioperative care.

Introduction: Perioperative hypersensitivity and allergic reactions can result in significant morbidity and mortality. For routine anesthetic care, allergies are determined from a review of the electronic medical record supplemented by a detailed patient history. Although the electronic medical record is generally assumed to be accurate, it may be that allergies are erroneously listed or not based on sound medical practice. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate allergies listed in the electronic medical record of children presenting for surgery and determine their origin, authenticity, and impact on perioperative care.

Methods: Eligible patients included those presenting for a surgical procedure in the main operating room, who were ≤ 21 years of age, with a drug allergy listed on the EMR. Prior to intraoperative care, an electronic survey questionnaire containing questions related to medication allergies was provided to a guardian or parent. Two anesthesiology physicians reviewed the survey responses to determine the validity of any reported allergies. A second electronic survey was given postoperatively to the attending anesthesiologist to determine whether the documented allergy impacted anesthetic care.

Results: The study cohort included 250 patients, ranging in age from 5 to 14 years (median age 9 years). All of the patients had at least one allergy listed on the electronic medical record. Seventy of the 250 patients (28%) had more than one drug allergy listed for a total of 351 medication allergies. The majority of the listed allergies were related to antibiotics including 155 (44%) from the penicillin family, 26 (7%) cephalosporins, 16 (5%) sulfonamides, and 36 (10%) other antimicrobial agents. Other commonly listed allergies were 27 (8%) nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents and 15 (4%) opioids. The remaining 76 (22%) included a miscellaneous list of other medications. On further review of the allergies, the survey was completed for 301 medications. After physician review, 135 of 301 (45%) responses were considered consistent with IgE reactions "true allergy," 73 (24%) were deemed less relevant to IgE reactions "unlikely true allergy," and 93 (31%) were not related to IgE reactions "not an allergy." Care alterations during surgery were uncommon regardless of whether the issue was assessed as a true allergy (11%), unlikely to be a true allergy (3%), or not a true allergy (13%).

Conclusion: A significant portion of the documented allergies in children are not true allergies, but rather recognized adverse effects (apnea from an opioid, renal failure from an NSAIDs) or other nonallergic concerns (gastrointestinal upset such as nausea). Erroneously listed allergies may lead to unnecessary alterations in patient care during perioperative care. A careful analysis of the allergy list on the EMR should be supplemented by a thorough patient history with specific questions related to the drug allergy. Once this is accomplished, the allergy listed should be updated to avoid its erroneous impact on perioperative care.