Most people diagnosed with penicillin allergies are not actually allergic to the drug, and these inaccurate diagnoses result in the unnecessary use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, according to a research paper published in JAMA.
Penicillin allergies are often diagnosed early in life and persist in a patient's medical record without verification. Ten percent of all U.S. patients have documented penicillin allergies. However, less than 10 percent of patients with a history of penicillin allergies who get tested in specialized allergy clinics receive test results indicating acute penicillin allergies. Additionally, penicillin allergies identified in childhood can subside in adulthood, according to research cited in the paper.
"Some physicians' consideration of a patient having penicillin allergy is based on patient experience that may have occurred early in childhood. This results in the use of alternate antibiotics that are less effective, more toxic and expensive, and that have inappropriately broader coverage than penicillin," wrote the paper's authors. "Accumulating evidence suggests that excessive use of unnecessarily broad-spectrum antibiotics increases the risk of antibiotic resistance, including Clostridium difficile infection."
To read the research paper, click here.
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