[Use of corticosteroids betamethasone and prednisolone in the prevention of allergic reactions in patients undergoing heart surgery with artificial blood circulation].

The authors discuss measures preventing intraoperative allergic reactions in patients subjected to cardiopulmonary bypass surgery. A retrospective analysis of the incidence of allergic reactions in 1330 patients operated on the heart showed that cardiosurgical patients are liable to anaphylaxis because of intraoperative administrations of numerous drugs (besides anesthetics), specifically, antibiotics, protamine, etc., blood components, solutions. Comparison of the incidence of anaphylactic and anaphylactoid reactions allowed the authors to recommend corticosteroids to be added to anesthesiological protocols with prophylactic purpose. A new corticosteroid betamethasone is more effective than traditional prednisolone in equivalent doses as regards prevention and alleviation of allergic reactions in cardiosurgical patients.