Antibiotic allergy labels in hospitalized and critically ill adults: A review of current impacts of inaccurate labelling

Rebekah Moran; Misha Devchand; Olivia Smibert; Jason A Trubiano

doi:10.1111/bcp.13830

Antibiotic allergy labels in hospitalized and critically ill adults: A review of current impacts of inaccurate labelling

Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2019 Mar;85(3):492-500. doi: 10.1111/bcp.13830. Epub 2019 Jan 11.

Authors

Rebekah Moran^{1

2}, Misha Devchand^{1

3}, Olivia Smibert⁴, Jason A Trubiano^{1

2

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia.
² Department of Medicine (Austin Health), University of Melbourne, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia.
³ Department of Pharmacy, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia.
⁴ Department of Infectious Diseases, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁵ The National Centre for Infections in Cancer, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Abstract

Antibiotic allergy labels (AALs) are reported by approximately 20% of hospitalized patients, yet over 85% will be negative on formal allergy testing. Hospitalized patients with an AAL have inferior patient outcomes, increased colonization with multidrug-resistant organisms and frequently receive inappropriate antimicrobials. Hospitalized populations have been well studied but, to date, the impact of AALs on patients with critical illness remains less well defined. We review the prevalence and impact of AALs on hospitalized patients, including those in in critical care.

Keywords: acute care; antimicrobial allergy; antimicrobial stewardship; penicillin allergy; skin testing.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Anti-Bacterial Agents / adverse effects*
Antimicrobial Stewardship / standards
Antimicrobial Stewardship / statistics & numerical data*
Critical Care / standards
Critical Care / statistics & numerical data*
Critical Illness
Drug Hypersensitivity / diagnosis*
Drug Hypersensitivity / epidemiology
Drug Hypersensitivity / prevention & control
Guideline Adherence / statistics & numerical data*
Hospitalization / statistics & numerical data
Humans
Intensive Care Units / standards
Intensive Care Units / statistics & numerical data
Practice Guidelines as Topic
Prevalence
Self Report / statistics & numerical data
Skin Tests / standards
Skin Tests / statistics & numerical data

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents