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JAMA. 1998;279:1684.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The FDA has issued a public health notice to inform health care professionals about the potential for serious hypersensitivity reactions to medical devices impregnated with chlorhexidine, an antimicrobial agent. Additionally, the agency is seeking information and reports to better evaluate the potential health hazard these products might pose, and to decide on what action, if any, should be taken. Devices incorporating chlorhexidine that the FDA has cleared for marketing include intravenous catheters, topical antimicrobial skin dressings, and implanted antimicrobial surgical mesh.

Anaphylactoid and other types of reactions have been reported with chlorhexidine used topically or intraurethrally, as a lubricant on urinary catheters, and with chlorhexidine-impregnated catheters. The notice describes non-US reports of systemic reactions to chlorhexidine impregnated gels or lubricants used during urological procedures and to similarly impregnated central venous catheters. It also describes other types of reactions that have been reported in the United States, including localized reactions to . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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