Sort Through Options When Treating Patients Reporting a Penicillin Allergy

You can encourage more use of penicillins or cephalosporins when patients report a penicillin allergy...to avoid broader antibiotics.

Some hospitals rule out true IgE allergies using skin testing.

If this isn't available, use history as your guide. Most reactions are NON-IgE-mediated benign rashes. Plus IgE antibodies decrease over time... 80% of patients with an IgE reaction won't react in 10 years.