Antibiotic allergies are prevalent in elderly patients yet a large number are not genuine, Melbourne researchers report.
This inappropriate labelling is likely fuelling inappropriate prescribing of broad-spectrum antibiotics that are restricted by antimicrobial stewardship programs, say the research team led by Dr Jason Trubiano from Austin Health in Melbourne.
Published in this week’s MJA the study involving 453 inpatients found almost a quarter had an antibiotic allergy label (AAL), of which 34% were related to simple penicillins, 13% to sulphur antimicrobials, and 11% to cephalosporins.
However many of these “allergies” were really side- effects or intolerances, or patients were defined as “low risk phenotypes”.
These patients were significantly more likely to be treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics such as ceftriaxone and fluoroquinolones usually restricted by antimicrobial stewardship programs.