Key result
IVUS-guided PCI successfully treats wasp-sting-induced type II Kounis syndrome presenting with coronary dissection.
Why the study?
Recognition of Kounis syndrome is challenging in patients with established coronary artery disease due to coexistence of hypersensitivity-mediated and conventional acute myocardial infarction mechanisms.
Case Report (n=1)
This case highlights that hypersensitivity reactions like wasp sting anaphylaxis (Kounis syndrome) can be temporally associated with severe coronary events such as coronary dissection in patients with preexisting CAD.
May warrant vigilance for dissection in anaphylaxis-associated STEMI; extends Kounis syndrome phenotypes but remains hypothesis-generating.
Kounis syndrome is an acute coronary syndrome occurring in temporal association with an allergic or anaphylactic reaction. Recognition may be particularly challenging in patients with established coronary artery disease, in whom hypersensitivity-mediated mechanisms may coexist with conventional causes of acute myocardial infarction. We report a 62-year-old man with known coronary artery disease and previous percutaneous coronary interventions who developed loss of consciousness, generalized urticaria, facial swelling, dyspnea, and hemodynamic instability shortly after two wasp stings. He received intramuscular adrenaline and supportive treatment for anaphylaxis. Severe chest pain subsequently developed, with ST-segment elevation and a dynamic increase in cardiac troponin. Emergency coronary angiography demonstrated a critical lesion extending from the distal left main coronary artery into the proximal left anterior descending artery. Intravascular ultrasound performed before stent implantation demonstrated an intimal flap and dissection plane. Intravascular ultrasound-guided percutaneous coronary intervention with drug-eluting stent implantation achieved a satisfactory acute result. Subsequent allergological evaluation demonstrated Hymenoptera venom sensitization; baseline serum tryptase measured approximately five weeks after the event was within the reference range. The close temporal relationship between anaphylaxis and myocardial infarction supports suspected type II Kounis syndrome, while coronary dissection was identified as the culprit lesion morphology; its causal relationship to the hypersensitivity reaction remains uncertain.
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Mirzojans et al. (2026) conducted a case report in Suspected Type II Kounis Syndrome (n=1). Wasp sting anaphylaxis was evaluated. Wasp sting anaphylaxis in a 62-year-old man with coronary artery disease triggered suspected type II Kounis syndrome with coronary dissection, successfully managed with IVUS-guided PCI.
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