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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Granulocyte-dependent Autoantibody-induced Skin Blistering
Published on: October 12, 2012
Clinical outcomes of penicillin skin testing
Kamalini Nadarajah1, George R Green, Mary Naglak
1Department of Internal Medicine, Allergy and Immunology, Abington Memorial Hospital, Abington, Pennsylvania 19001, USA. knadarajah@fhcs.org
Background:
Penicillin or cephalosporin allergy is a common problem with antibiotic drug prescribing in hospitalized patients.
Objectives:
To study the various clinical outcomes of penicillin skin testing (PST) in a community teaching hospital and to determine the percentage of patients who have an antibiotic drug modification after PST.
Methods:
This study was a retrospective medical record review of all inpatients who underwent PST in 6.6 years. Information was collected on 101 patients using a detailed data collection form. Data were summarized using descriptive statistics, including frequencies and percentages.
Results:
Of the 101 patients who underwent PST, 92 had a negative result and 5 had a positive result; in 4 patients the test result was indeterminate. There was a 96% (67/70) reduction in the use of vancomycin and a 96% (23/24) reduction in the use of fluoroquinolones after PST in patients with negative results. Forty-nine percent of patients with negative PST results were administered a penicillin-based drug, and 48% were given a cephalosporin. Cultures were positive most commonly for Staphylococcus aureus and enterococcus. There were no serious adverse reactions to PST or to the use of penicillins or cephalosporins after a negative PST result.
Conclusions:
Penicillin skin testing lowered the use of vancomycin and fluoroquinolones and increased the use of penicillin-based drugs and cephalosporins in patients with a history of beta-lactam drug allergies.
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