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Review
. 2019 Aug 29;7(3):124.
doi: 10.3390/pharmacy7030124.

Aminoglycoside Allergic Reactions

Lindsey M Childs-Kean  1 , Kristy M Shaeer  2 , Sheeba Varghese Gupta  3 , Jonathan C Cho  4
Affiliations
Review

Aminoglycoside Allergic Reactions

Lindsey M Childs-Kean et al. Pharmacy (Basel). .

Abstract

Aminoglycosides are antimicrobial agents that are primarily used for infections caused by Gram-negative pathogens. The purpose of this article is to review the allergic reactions reported in the published literature to aminoglycoside antibiotics. A thorough PubMed search was conducted and excluded non-allergic adverse reactions to aminoglycosides. Allergic reactions to aminoglycosides occur infrequently, but can include cutaneous reactions as well as systemic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Of the evaluated aminoglycosides, gentamicin had the most reported allergic reactions, including the most reports of anaphylaxis, followed by tobramycin, and then amikacin. Most reports of allergic reactions occurred in patients who had a prior exposure to some dosage form of an aminoglycoside. Cross-reactivity among aminoglycosides is common and occurs due to the similarities in their chemical structures. Desensitization protocols to tobramycin have been described in the literature.

Keywords: allergy; amikacin; aminoglycosides; gentamicin; hypersensitivity; tobramycin.

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Conflict of interest statement

J.C.C. serves on the Speakers Bureau for Allergan. The other authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Chemical structures of aminoglycosides, with structural differences highlighted in blue [5].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structural constituents of Neomycin B [5].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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