Impact of penicillin allergy records on carbapenem prescribing: an observational retrospective cohort study

N. Powell*, R. West, J. Sandoe

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Penicillin allergy labels have been associated with second-line antibiotic prescribing. This study measured the impact of penicillin allergy labels on meropenem prescribing. Rates of meropenem prescribing were compared between patients with a penicillin allergy record and patients without such a record. Potential confounders were also collected (i.e. age, sex and co-morbidities). Of the 21,272 patients with no penicillin allergy, 225 (1.06%) were prescribed meropenem, whereas of the 3443 patients with penicillin allergy, 240 (6.97%) were prescribed meropenem. Meropenem prescribing is associated with a patient's penicillin allergy record. Given that many penicillin allergy records are incorrect, addressing spurious penicillin allergy labels may reduce meropenem prescribing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)467-470
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Hospital Infection
Volume101
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2019
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology (medical)
  • Infectious Diseases

Keywords

  • Broad-spectrum antibiotics
  • Meropenem
  • Penicillin allergy

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