Procainamide-induced postoperative pyrexia

Procainamide is an effective antiarrhythmic that is often used to convert a trial fibrillation to normal sinus rhythm. A side effect of procainamide, r arely reported in the surgical literature, is pyrexia. The pyrexia is a man ifestation of an allergic response to this medication. If unrecognized, pro cainamide-induced pyrexia can lead to unnecessary testing, hospitalization, and treatment. We present a case of a post-coronary artery bypass surgery patient who repeatedly displayed pyrexia when reexposed to procainamide ind icating an allergic response to this drug. (Ann Thorac Surg 1999;68:1072-4) (C) 1999 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.