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Published:February 28, 2020

Q: Our teenage daughter with egg and soy allergies has to have surgery. Ive been told that the drug propofol used in anesthesia contains both egg and soy. Is that correct and should I be concerned?

Dr. Sharma: Propofol is mixed in a liquid which contains soybean oil and egg lecithin (a fatty substrate).

For people like your daughter, who have soy or egg allergies, they are allergic to the proteins in these foods, not the oils or fats.

While in theory soy oil and egg lecithin might contain trace amounts of protein, there are no reports in the medical literature of any allergic reactions caused by these ingredients.

There have been reports of allergic reactions to propofol in medical literature. But none of these appear to be related to soy or egg allergy.

Therefore, the general recommendation is that patients who require anesthesia with soy or egg allergy can receive propofol. But be sure to check with your daughters allergist to discuss her particular case.

Dr. Sharma is an allergist, clinical researcher andassociateprofessor of pediatrics. He isChiefof the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Childrens National Medical Center in Washington D.C. and Director of the Food Allergy Program. He co-authors The Food Allergy Experts column inAllergic Livings e-magazine. Questions submitted will be considered for answer in the e-magazine.

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Does the Drug Used in Anesthesia Contain Egg and Soy? - Allergic Living