Management of a patient labelled as having a penicillin allergy

This review provides an approach to the surgical patient presenting to theatre who has been labelled as being allergic to penicillin. It discusses the importance of confirming the penicillin allergy and alternative drugs to avoid anaphylaxis and their effectiveness in preventing surgical site infections.

Educational Objectives

Educational Aim:
The aim of this article is to review the current consensus guidelines available to assist the clinician in deciding which allergy tests to perform in a patient who has been labelled as having a penicillin allergy.

Editor's comments:
In South Africa the readily availability of allergy testing is not widespread. However, this article points out the importance of trying to confirm whether the penicillin allergy labelled patient is in fact at risk of developing an anaphylaxis when the decision needs to be made of administering a cephalosporin eg. cefazolin or an alternative eg. clindamycin.

Educational Outcomes:
Upon completion of this module practitioners should have a clear understanding of:

1. The importance of confirming an actual penicillin allergy.

2. Guidelines to which tests to perform for which patient.
3. Alternative antibiotics to administer in case of confirmed penicillin allergy.

Instructions for this Module

• Read the supplied reading material and complete the quiz that follows;
• You have three attempts to pass the quiz;
• The pass grade is 70%;
• You need to pass the quiz to claim your CPD certificate;
• Please click on the CPD certificate link below to claim your CPD certificate and to update your CPD Manager.

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