The prevalence of penicillin allergy labeling ranged from 0.9% to 10.2% across practices in a large pediatric cohort, raising questions regarding the validity of those labels and the unnecessary use of second-line antibiotics that may follow.

Factors Associated With Penicillin Allergy Labels in Electronic Health Records of Children in 2 Large US Pediatric Primary Care Networks – JAMA Network Open

Related: A pharmacist-led penicillin allergy assessment program can delabel many “penicillin allergic” patients through allergy histories and penicillin skin testing. The program was associated with reduced use of high Clostridioides difficile infection–risk antibiotics.

M-A: Most patients with allergy to Penicillin can be given Cefazolin

Systematic review: Safety and efficacy of de-labelling penicillin allergy in adults using direct oral challenge

Penicillin allergy labels increase second-line broad-spectrum antibiotic prescribing for pediatric respiratory tract infections

Podcast: A Clinical Pharmacologist’s Perspective on Penicillin Allergy

Study: Development and Validation of a Penicillin Allergy Clinical Decision Rule

Consensus Recommendations: Management of a Surgical Patient with a Label of Penicillin Allergy

Practical Guide for Pharmacists to Successfully Implement Penicillin Allergy Skin Testing

NICE: Double Check Patients with ‘Penicillin Allergy’ to Avoid Increased MRSA Risk

Cohort Study: Risk of Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus and Clostridium Difficile in Patients with a Documented Penicillin Allergy

Commentary on Twitter

In this cohort study of more than 330,000 children, less than 5% were labeled with penicillin allergy with wide variation across practices, with 8% of those labeled despite not receiving any penicillin prescription. https://t.co/kvXcm1RKRd

— JAMA Network Open (@JAMANetworkOpen) March 15, 2022