Patient perspectives on penicillin allergy and testing.

Area of Science:

• Allergy and Immunology
• Patient Safety
• Clinical Research

Background:

• Many patients labeled with penicillin allergy can tolerate the antibiotic.
• Limited research exists on patient understanding of penicillin allergy and testing.
• Understanding patient perspectives can improve education and penicillin de-labeling.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore patient views on penicillin allergy testing.
• To determine if patient characteristics influence testing completion.

Main Methods:

• Survey administered to 88 patients with documented penicillin allergy in allergy clinics.
• Medical records reviewed for penicillin testing outcomes.
• Survey assessed reaction history, knowledge, and perspectives on penicillin allergy testing.

Main Results:

• Only 45.5% of patients were aware of available penicillin allergy testing.
• Awareness of testing strongly correlated with completion; other factors did not.
• Patients who scheduled follow-up testing were more likely to complete it.
• Fear of adverse testing effects was the primary barrier for uninterested patients.

Conclusions:

• Patient awareness of testing availability and ease of scheduling are key to higher completion rates.
• Fear of adverse effects remains a significant barrier to penicillin testing.
• Enhancing patient education and interdisciplinary collaboration is vital to increase penicillin de-labeling.