Preoperative penicillin allergy testing in patients undergoing cardiac surgery

Cefazolin is a first-line prophylactic antibiotic used to prevent surgical site infections (SSIs) in cardiac surgery. Patients with a history of penicillin allergy often receive less effective second-line antibiotics, which is associated with an increased SSI risk.

To describe the impact of preoperative penicillin allergy evaluation on perioperative cefazolin use in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with a documented penicillin allergy who underwent cardiac surgery at the Massachusetts General Hospital from September 2015 to December 2018. We describe penicillin allergy evaluation assessment and outcomes. We evaluated the association between preoperative penicillin allergy evaluation and first-line perioperative antibiotic use using a multivariable logistic regression model.

Of 3802 cardiac surgical patients, 510 (13%) had a documented penicillin allergy; 165 (33%) were referred to allergy and immunology practitioners. Of 160 patients (31%) who underwent penicillin allergy evaluation (ie, penicillin skin testing and, if results were negative, an amoxicillin challenge), 154 (97%) were found not to have a penicillin allergy. Patients who underwent preoperative penicillin allergy evaluation were more likely to receive the first-line perioperative antibiotic (92% vs 38%, P < .001). After adjusting for potential confounders, patients who underwent preoperative penicillin allergy evaluation had higher odds of first-line perioperative antibiotic use (adjusted odds ratio, 26.6; 95% CI, 12.8-55.2).

Integrating penicillin allergy evaluation into routine preoperative care ensured that almost all evaluated patients undergoing cardiac surgery received first-line antibiotic prophylaxis, a critical component of SSI risk reduction. Further efforts are needed to increase access to preoperative allergy evaluation.