Rationale: Penicillin allergy prevalence is estimated in 5-10% worldwide. Recent data suggests that most of these individuals are able to tolerate penicillin. Un-verified penicillin allergy is a growing public health problem associated with broad-spectrum antibiotics use and prolonged hospitalizations. Negative skin test followed by an oral challenge test (OCT) is the current gold-standard used to annulet penicillin allergy.
Objectives: To appraise the long term outcomes of the penicillin allergy evaluation in ambulatory patients, focusing on subsequent use of penicillin in individuals found not allergic and to examine the consistency between the evaluation`s recommendations and the allergy label on the medical files.
Methods: A retrospective medical records review and telephone survey was carried out in ambulatory patients of the Allergy and Clinical Immunology Clinic at Meir Medical Center.
Results: Between May 2011 and January 2016, 741 patients were evaluated for penicillin allergy. Six hundred and twenty seven patients had an uneventful OCT and were available for survey. Among them, 448 (71.45%) have used penicillin since the OCT. The main reason for avoidance of penicillin was lack of clinical indication(63%). With regards to the allergy label, 336 patients(51.37%) with an uneventful OCT still carried a penicillin allergy label in their medical file.
Conclusion: Penicillin allergy annulling via ST and OCT has proven to be effective, most of the patients that previously avoided penicillin have re-used penicillin safely. However, effectiveness may be impaired due to the gap between the evaluation`s results and the persistence of the allergy label in the electronic medical files.
