Antimicrobial Use Guidelines (AMUG) version 21 - UW Health

APPENDIX J: UWHC Guidelines For the Use of Beta-Lactam Antibiotics in Patients withReported Allergies to PenicillinPlease address questions, comments, and suggestions regarding this guideline toLee Vermeulen, MS, RPh, FCCP, Director, Center for Drug Policy at 608/262-7537.Guidelines developed by UWHC Center for Drug PolicyAuthor: Jeffrey Fish, PharmDReviewed by: Infectious Disease Section and Allergy Section, UW Hospital and ClinicsCoordination: Lee Vermeulen, MS, RPh, FCCP, Director, CDPApproved by P&T: May 2004Last Review Date: May 2009Next Scheduled Update: May 2011A. Principles and BackgroundThe reported penicillin allergy rate for inpatients and outpatients is 10%. 1-5 Of these patients, 80-90% will not have positive penicillin skin testing, which test for IgE-mediated reactions only. 6,7The patient may state they are allergic to a medication, but the reaction could be an adverse drugreaction (i.e. GI intolerance) or attributed to the disease being treated (i.e., rash caused by viralinfection while on amoxicillin). 6 The positive penicillin skin test also decreases 10% annually aftera penicillin allergic reaction and 78% of penicillin allergic patients have negative skin tests after10 years of avoidance. 8The different types of allergic drug reactions are classified as follows by the Gell and Coombsclassification. 2-4,6,7,9-111.0 Type 1: IgE-mediated1.1 Immediate reactions (onset