POSSIBLE LINK BETWEEN ANAPHYLACTOID REACTIONS TO ANESTHETICS AND CHEMICALS IN COSMETICS AND BIOCIDES

Binding-inhibition studies involving human IgE antibody to suxamethoni um, SUX (from a patient with a near-fatal reaction), were performed wi th five different quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC): three common in gredients of cosmetics and two commonly used disinfectants, cetrimide and benzalkonium. All the five QAC showed immunological cross-reaction with SUX. In addition, at high concentrations, they released histamin e from basophils of normal subjects. Thus, QAC may be both sensitizers and histamine releasers.