A medication allergy is defined as an immune-mediated adverse drug reaction. This response may occur to a wide range of medication classes including antibiotics and narcotic analgesics. Reported medication allergies often result in patients receiving alternative therapies that are often less effective, more toxic, and costlier than an otherwise preferred regimen. This is especially problematic when dealing with serious infections in hospitalized patients. It has been estimated that up to 90% of patients with a reported antibiotic allergy do not experience a true allergic reaction, which would preclude the administration of a desired antibiotic. The most common and most significant of which is likely the reporting of penicillin allergies. Many reported allergic reactions occurred years ago, when manufactured products were less pure; these reactions could have been to contaminants and not the actual drug. Another common occurrence is reporting symptoms of an illness or a common side effect of a drug as a medication allergy. Patient over-reporting of medication allergies is an additional way collected information may be incorrect. One study found that 9% of patients who initially reported a penicillin allergy stated they had no reaction upon further questioning. This may lead to increased length of stay, increased duration of treatment, costlier antimicrobial usage, unnecessary prolonged broad spectrum therapy, and increased antimicrobial resistance.
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