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Published on: September 16, 2011
Proving penicillin allergy
1Department of Medicine, Ochsner Clinic of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Postgraduate Medicine
|February 1, 1990
Abstract:
Allergic reactions to penicillin are usually short-lived and reversible, but they can be fatal. What causes these reactions? Can they be avoided? How is the risk of penicillin allergy evaluated? Drs Erffmeyer and Blaiss describe the full spectrum of allergic, immune, and nonimmune reactions to penicillin and discuss how to assess and treat patients with suspected penicillin allergy.
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Penicillin, one of the earliest and most widely used antibiotics, is produced industrially by the filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum. Large stirred-tank bioreactors ranging from tens to hundreds of thousands of liters maintain tightly controlled temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen conditions to support fungal metabolism and maximize antibiotic yield. Penicillin is a secondary metabolite, synthesized primarily during the stationary growth phase, which requires a carefully managed...

