Serum tryptase levels in acute coronary syndromes with ST elevation.

A patient with severe coronary disease, who underwent inguinal hernia repair, suffered a cardiovascular collapse after anaesthetic induction and died. He had Kounis syndrome, which is the concurrence of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) with conditions associated with mast cell activation. We measured the serum tryptase level in this patient and in a group of ten other patients admitted to hospital with the diagnosis of ACS with ST elevation in order to determine the origin of these events.