Prevalence and characteristics of reported penicillin allergy in an urban outpatient adult population.
Open accessAbstract
Penicillin allergy remains the most common drug allergy, with a reported prevalence of 10% in the United States. Epidemiology of penicillin allergy in outpatient populations is relatively scarce. This study sought to determine the prevalence and characteristics of reported penicillin allergy in an urban outpatient population and to identify trends in clinical evaluation and management from a tertiary center serving a large inner-city population. A retrospective review of electronic medical records was performed of adult patients seen in the Internal Medicine Associates Clinic of Mount Sinai Hospital between January 31, 2012, and July 31, 2012. Medical records were selected based on the documentation of penicillin in patient's allergy section. Of the 11,761 patients seen in the clinic, 1348 patients (11.5%) reported a history of penicillin allergy. The most common allergic reactions were rash (37%), unknown/undocumented (20.2%), hives (18.9%), swelling/angioedema (11.8%), and anaphylaxis (6.8%). There was an increased prevalence of penicillin allergy in female patients compared with male patients (odds ratio [OR] = 1.82; 95% CI = 1.60, 2.08; p < 0.0001), and there were significantly fewer Asians with penicillin allergy compared with Caucasians (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.32, 0.83; p = 0.007). However, only 78 (6%) of the patients reporting penicillin allergy had a referral to an allergy specialist. Overall, improved referral to an allergist will help to identify patients who have penicillin allergy requiring avoidance.
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Prevalence of reported allergy to penicillin is approximately 10% among the U.S. population and higher among hospital inpatients and residents in health care-related facilities.
“Prevalence of reported allergy to penicillin is approximately 10% among the U.S. population and higher among hospital inpatients and residents in health care–related facilities (655–658).”
From Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021 (2021) · cites this paper as [655]
The paper’s opening summary reports a 10% prevalence of reported penicillin allergy in the United States. Its introduction says rates are higher among people receiving more health care, but it does not specifically identify hospital inpatients or residents of health care facilities as groups with higher rates. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines, 2021
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- Authors
- Albin, S., & Agarwal, S.
- Affiliations
- American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (US)
- Corresponding author
- Albin, Stephanie
- Venue
- Allergy and Asthma Proceedings
- Publisher
- Oceanside Publications Inc.
- Published
- 2014-11-01
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 489-494
- ISSN
- 1088-5412 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4210656
- OpenAlex
- W2323698082
- Cited by
- 162
- References
- 21
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 7.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Allergy and Asthma Proceedings (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (UL1TR000067)
- National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Drug-Induced Adverse Reactions
- Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Toxicology › Pharmacovigilance and Adverse Drug Reactions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Dermatology › Contact Dermatitis and Allergies
- Keywords
- penicillin allergy, allergic reactions, anaphylaxis, angioedema, rash, sex differences, racial differences, antibiotic avoidance
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Aged, Anti-Bacterial Agents, Drug Hypersensitivity, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Outpatients, Penicillins, Retrospective Studies, Urban Population, Comorbidity, Prevalence, Odds Ratio, Racial Groups
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