Controversies in Drug Allergy: Beta-Lactam Hypersensitivity Testing

Publication date: Available online 20 September 2018Source: The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In PracticeAuthor(s): Maria J. Torres, N. Franklin Adkinson, Jean-Christoph Caubet, David A. Khan, Mona I. Kidon, Louis Mendelson, Eva Rebelo Gomes, Ticha Rerkpattanapipat, Shuchen Zhang, Eric Macy, AAAAI/WAO 2018 Symposium Penicillin and Cephalosporin Allergy Testing Working GroupAll beta-lactam use is associated with a certain rate of adverse reactions. Many of these adverse reactions result in an allergy to the beta-lactam being entered into the patient's medical record. Unfortunately, only a small minority of these recorded allergies are clinically significant immunologically mediated drug hypersensitivity. An unconfirmed allergy to beta-lactams is a significant public health risk, because patients so labeled typically do not receive narrow-spectrum penicillins and cephalosporins when clinically indicated. The alternative antibiotics they receive result in poorer clinical outcomes, increased incidence of serious antibiotic-resistant infections, prolonged hospitalizations, and greater health care utilization. There is a wide variation in beta-lactam allergy incidence and prevalence around the world, based in part on the specific beta-lactams used and overused. There is a wide variation in specific protocols used to confirm current tolerance of beta-lactams and remove these inaccurate allergy reports. Harmonizing testing protocols, when possible, may lead to more wide...
Source: The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice - Category: Allergy & Immunology Source Type: research