Asia Pacific allergy
-
Asia Pacific allergy · Apr 2013
Utility of penicillin allergy testing in patients presenting with a history of penicillin allergy.
Current statistics show that approximately 10% of patients claim to be allergic to penicillin yet only 10% of these have demonstrable allergy. The most appropriate and cost-effective antibiotics are sometimes withheld on the basis of patient history of drug allergy. ⋯ A minority of patients presenting with a history of penicillin allergy have evidence of immune-mediated hypersensitivity (17/110, 15%) in this study. Of these, eight out of seventeen (47%) had delayed reactions, demonstrating the usefulness and discriminating power of objective testing, which must include three-day oral challenge. Discriminating factors for immune-mediated allergy from patient history were a clear description of the original reaction and a history of anaphylaxis. Negative allergy testing enables the use of penicillin as first-line treatment when necessary and this can significantly reduce costs of antibiotics.