Penicillin Allergy Myths

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Sean G., M.D. -

I thought this was great. Am I missing something I did not see any notes on it in the written summary.

Anand S. -

Glad you enjoyed it, Sean. Not sure about the written notes. This interview was done a bit on the late side so Mel may not have had a chance to insert it into the notes but I'd be happy to post any information/notes you would like from the section here. Thanks for listening.

Sean G., M.D. -

Thanks Anand, I just would lile the literature references so I can give them to the (assuredly numerous) IM colleagues who will tell me I've lost my mind in giving that Rocephin....cause as u said it clearly has not filtered down to common knowledge amongst practitioners and I will definitely will need to back up my "boldness" in using second and 3rd gen ceph to pen allergic/anaphylactic pts.

Anand S. -

Here are the references I cited. Hope this helps you all fight the good fight.

Anne, S et al. Risk of administration cephalosporin antibiotics to patients with histories of penicillin allergy. Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology 1995; 74: 167-70

Apter AJ et al. Is there cross-reactivity between penicillins and cephalosporins? American Journal of Medicine 2006; 119 (4): 354.e11-e20

Campagna JD et al. The use of cephalosporins in penicillin-allergic patients: a literature review. Journal of Emergency Medicine 2012; 42(5): 612-20.

Herbert M et al. Medical myth: ten percent of patients who are allergic to penicillin will have serious reactions if exposed to cephalosporins. Western Journal of Medicine 2000; 172: 341

Sean G., M.D. -

You da man! Much thanks....once again proving Mel, Like "the entertainer formerly known as "Prince"" was well ahead of his time....

Carole E., MD -

How about ertapenem? I've heard from one of our surgeons there is no crossreaction. what do you guys think?

Anand S. -

Great question but I'm not sure I know the answer. I'll have to look into it

Jonathan G., D.O. -

I appreciated the written summary. Great review of the literature on the podcast as well. Thanks!

Mohammed A. -

I can't even begin to explain to you how annoying this problem is in the hospital. The problem is most patients don't remember what the reaction was and some will say they had trouble breathing or something along the lines of an anaphylactic reaction, so in those circumstances our pharmacy says we cannot give any beta lactams. I'm not sure if the studies you cited included those pts in their analysis I'll look into it though. Great talk!

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