Allergic Reactions To Penicillin and Skin Test Evaluation via Intradermal Injection

Intradermal Injection
This study compared the diagnostic value of intradermal tests and patch tests in 20 patients with non-immediate reactions to penicillin (none had IgE antibodies to benzylpenicillin or amoxicillin detectable using a commercial RAST [radioallergosorbent test] method), using 30 patients tolerant to penicillin as controls. Intradermal tests assessed reactivity to injection of major and minor determinants of benzylpenicillin, amoxicillin and ampicillin. Allergy patch testing involved the same hapten solutions used for intradermal testing, either embedded in a patch disk or mixed with petrolatum. (more…)

Penicillin Allergy Testing: Re-prescription Of Penicillin After Allergic-Like Events

Penicillin Allergy Testing
Suspected drug allergy is not easy to investigate. In the UK, few centers have the necessary facilities and expertise, the evidence base of the available diagnostic tests is not robust, and their interpretation of drug allergy reaction is not straightforward. This has led many clinicians increasingly to rely on the patient’s recollection of previous response to individual allergies medicines when anticipating the likely tolerability of future exposure. (more…)