Allergic Reactions in Hospitalized Patients With a Self-Reported Penicillin Allergy Who Receive a Cephalosporin or Meropenem

Background:Cefepime and meropenem are used frequently in hospitalized patients for broad-spectrum empiric coverage, however, practitioners are often reluctant to prescribe these antibiotics for patients with a self-reported nonsevere, nontype I allergic reaction to penicillin.Methods:Retrospective review of electronic medical records of adults with a self-reported allergy to penicillin who received at least 1 dose of cefepime, ceftriaxone, cefoxitin, cephalexin, or meropenem to assess incidence and type of allergic reactions.Results:Of 175 patients included, 10 (6%) patients experienced an allergic reaction. The incidence for individual study drugs were cefepime 6% (6 of 96), meropenem 5% (3 of 56), cefoxitin 8% (1 of 13), ceftriaxone 0% (0 of 69), and cephalexin 0% (0 of 8). The majority of patients experienced a rash with or without pruritus and fever. Patients with a concomitant “sulfa” allergy (odds ratio [OR] 5.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4-21, P = .02) or ≥3 other drug allergies (OR 6.4, 95% C...