Penicillin ‘allergy’ muddies the water and may increase rates of drug resistance and infection

Website intended for a NZ health professional readership

+Print Archive

News

Penicillin ‘allergy’ muddies the water and may increase rates of drug resistance and infection

20 November 2019

Wednesday 20 November 2019, 05:00 AM

Clinical microbiologist Juliet Elvy says penicillin is safe for many patients who believe they are allergic

Nine out of 10 patients who report an allergy to penicillin are not actually allergic, says Healthscope clinical microbiologist Juliet Elvy. Man

Laboratories

References

Blumenthal KG, Lu N, Zhang Y et al. Risk of meticillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile in patients with a documented penicillin allergy: population based matched cohort study. BMJ 2018;361:k2400 (online June 2018).

Whyler N, Tomlin A, Tilyard M, et al. Ethnic disparities in community antibacterial dispensing in New Zealand, 2015. NZ Med J 2018;131,1480:50–60.

Print Archive

How to Treat

+How to treat

Pharmacist prescribers Linda Bryant and Leanne Te Karu discuss positive polypharmacy for heart failure. Current evidence shows the intensive implementation of four medications offers the greatest benefit to most patients with heart failure, with significant reductions in cardiovascular mortality, heart failure hospitalisations and all-cause mortality

Wednesday 29 January 2025, 12:45 AM