Kounis syndrome is a well-described clinical condition characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of chest pain and an allergic reaction accompanied by clinical and laboratory findings of angina caused by inflammatory mediators released during an allergic insult. We present the case of a 50-year-old male with the Samter-Beer triad of asthma, nasal polyps, and salicylate intolerance with an ST elevation myocardial infarction complicated with cardiac arrest due to multi-vessel coronary artery spasm secondary to aspirin anaphylaxis. Adrenaline is recommended during anaphylaxis but is controversial in Kounis syndrome as it may worsen coronary spasm. We report the use of intracoronary adrenaline in successfully reversing coronary artery spasm in this hemodynamically unstable patient.
Keywords: Kounis syndrome; Samter-Beer triad; aspirin allergy; coronary spasm; intracoronary adrenaline.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.