Alpha-Gal Syndrome and Cardiac Surgery

Galactose-alpha-1,3-galactose (alpha-gal) is a carbohydrate expressed by all mammals except for humans and certain old-world primates. It can be found in a plethora of products derived from mammals, including milk, organs, skeletal muscle and gelatin, in addition to products prepared with mammalian cells or constituents. In the late 2000s, an association between tick bites and the development of immunoglobulin E antibodies to the alpha-gal carbohydrate was discovered. The term “alpha-gal syndrome” (AGS) was then coined to describe allergic reactions to mammalian meat or other alpha-gal–containing products derived from mammals. Symptoms are often delayed several hours from consumption and can be urticarial and/or gastrointestinal. Medications and bioprosthetic inserts derived from mammals were also noted to cause allergic reactions in affected patients. Cardiac surgery, in particular, is considered high risk, given that unfractionated heparin has a bovine or porcine origin and is administered in large doses for cardiopulmonary bypass. Bioprosthetic valves have similar origins and risks. Awareness of AGS in cardiac surgery patients can lead to decreased risk preoperatively and inform management perioperatively and postoperatively. In this narrative review, we have reviewed the published literature relevant to AGS in patients undergoing cardiac surgery and shared our treatment approach.