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. 2023 Feb 3;17(2):e01659.
doi: 10.1213/XAA.0000000000001659. eCollection 2023 Feb 1.

Implementing Preoperative Penicillin Allergy Testing in Surgical Patients

Ravindra Alok Gupta  1 , Howard Lee, Obianuju Okocha
Affiliations

Implementing Preoperative Penicillin Allergy Testing in Surgical Patients

Ravindra Alok Gupta et al. A A Pract. .

Abstract

Penicillin allergy is the most reported immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated reaction. About 10% of the general population and 20% of hospitalized patients have a history of penicillin allergy. Unconfirmed penicillin allergy with subsequent administration of second-line antibiotics has been associated with increased morbidity. However, when penicillin allergy testing is performed, the incidence of IgE-mediated reactions is extremely low; in fact, the negative predictive value of penicillin allergy testing exceeds 99%. This article aims to briefly describe implementing safe penicillin allergy testing as a routine test during the preoperative evaluation of surgical patients.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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