Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2021 Jun;61(6):832-835.
doi: 10.1002/jcph.1824. Epub 2021 Feb 28.

PEG That Reaction: A Case Series of Allergy to Polyethylene Glycol

Fionnuala Cox  1 , Khairin Khalib  1 , Niall Conlon  2
Affiliations
Case Reports

PEG That Reaction: A Case Series of Allergy to Polyethylene Glycol

Fionnuala Cox et al. J Clin Pharmacol. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Polyethylene glycol (PEG), also known as macrogol, is an excipient in numerous medications, health care products, cosmetics, and foods. It acts as an inert bulking, or stabilizing, agent. Despite its ubiquity, including in 2 of the newly launched vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, awareness of PEG allergy remains low. We present 6 cases of acute hypersensitivity to PEG. Accurate diagnoses in these cases posed a challenge, and although the triggering agents differed, PEG was demonstrated as the common culprit. All cases were female, with a mean age of 36.4 years. Four patients were originally suspected to have nonsteroid anti-inflammatory drug allergy, and 2 had a history of chronic spontaneous urticaria and angioedema. Biphasic allergic reactions featured prominently in this case series. Diagnosis relies on a high index of suspicion leading to a focused clinical history, supported by skin tests with PEG solutions to demonstrate sensitization. This case series highlights important clinical features of this rare, potentially serious, and increasingly recognized excipient allergy.

Keywords: PEG; allergy; anaphylaxis; drug allergy; excipient; macrogol; polyethylene glycol.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

References

    1. Bruusgaard‐Mouritsen MA, Johansen JD, Garvey LH. Clinical manifestations and impact on daily life of allergy to polyethylene glycol (PEG) in ten patients. Clin Exp Allergy. 2021. doi: 10.1111/cea.13822. - PubMed
    1. Roseingrave L. Verdict of medical misadventure in case of fatal allergic reaction. The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime‐and‐law/courts/coroner‐scourt/verd.... Published January 2, 2021. Accessed January 2, 2021.
    1. Stone CA, Liu Y, Relling MV, et al. Immediate hypersensitivity to polyethylene glycols polysorbates: more common than we have recognized. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2019;7(5):1533‐1540.e8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wenande E, Garvey LH. Immediate‐type hypersensitivity to polyethylene glycols: a review Clin Exp Allergy. 2016;46(7):907‐922. - PubMed
    1. Sellaturay P, Nasser S, Ewan P. Polyethylene glycol–induced systemic allergic reactions (Anaphylaxis). J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2021;9(2):670‐675. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances