Antibiotic Allergy Labels in Children Are Associated With Adverse Clinical Outcomes

Purpose of the Study: To examine whether antibiotic allergy labeling has a significant impact on clinical outcomes in children. Study Population: The study included 1672 pediatric patients. The mean age of patients was 6.8 years (range: 0–18.7 years). Methods: Children with an antibiotic allergy lab...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatrics (Evanston) 2019-12, Vol.144 (Supplement_1), p.S15-S16
Main Authors: Katari, Priya, Shaker, Marcus
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Allergies
Antibiotics
Children
Clinical outcomes
Diagnosis
Labels
Lincosamides
Nitroimidazole
Patients
Pediatrics
Population studies
Quinolones
β-Lactam antibiotics
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Summary:Purpose of the Study: To examine whether antibiotic allergy labeling has a significant impact on clinical outcomes in children. Study Population: The study included 1672 pediatric patients. The mean age of patients was 6.8 years (range: 0–18.7 years). Methods: Children with an antibiotic allergy label in their charts admitted to a tertiary care teaching hospital in Australia were retrospectively identified from April 2014 to April 2015 through chart review. Data collected included history of allergic reaction, antibiotic allergy label, diagnosis on admission, antibiotics prescribed, admitting specialty, length of stay, and hospital readmissions within 4 weeks and 6 months of discharge. Results: Antibiotic allergies were recorded in 5.3% of the cohort, with β-lactams most commonly reported (85%). Increasing age was significantly associated with increased likelihood of having a documented allergy label, most commonly a β-lactam allergy label. Children with antibiotic allergy labels were more likely to receive macrolides, quinolones, lincosamides, and nitroimidazoles compared with patients without an allergy label. After adjusting for age, sex, diagnosis, and admitting specialty, an antibiotic allergy label was associated with prolonged length of hospital stay (odds ratio: 1.62; 95% confidence interval: 1.05–2.50). Conclusions: Researchers in this study found that antibiotic allergy labeling was associated with negative clinical outcomes in children, including longer hospital stays and greater use of broad-spectrum antibiotics when compared with patients without an antibiotic allergy label.
ISSN:0031-4005
1098-4275
DOI:10.1542/peds.2019-2461V