Sneezing Reflex With Sedation and Anesthetic Injection

July’s AJO

Ahn et al. compared the frequency of reflex sneezing occurring during periocular anesthetic injections with and without intravenous sedation.
In a retrospective study of 722 patients undergoing oculoplastic surgical procedures, the patients who received a periocular anesthetic injection under intravenous sedation served as the test group of 381 subjects. Those who received a periocular anesthetic injection without intravenous sedation served as the control group of 341 subjects. The absence or presence of reflex sneezing in both groups was recorded and compared using chi-square analysis.
Of the 381 patients who received periocular anesthetic injections under intravenous sedation, 19 exhibited a vigorous sneeze. Conversely, none of the 341 patients who received periocular anesthetic injections without intravenous sedation sneezed.
The authors point out that all operating room personnel should be aware of this unusual and potentially dangerous sneeze phenomenon in order to reduce potential ocular complications.