Antibiotic Allergy Labels in Children Are Associated with Adverse Clinical Outcomes

Abstract

Background: Self-reported antibiotic allergies are common among hospitalized adults and children. However, there is a paucity of studies investigating the impact of an antibiotic allergy label in childhood. Objective: To investigate the impact of antibiotic allergy labeling on clinical outcomes in children. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in a major pediatric tertiary hospital to capture inpatient admissions (N = 1672) in April 2014 and April 2015. Data, collected by chart review, included documented antibiotic allergy labels, antibiotic prescriptions, admitting specialty, hospital length of stay, and hospital readmissions. Results: Of the 1672 pediatric patients surveyed, 58.1% were male and 44.8% were prescribed antibiotics. Antibiotic allergy labels were recorded in 5.3% of patients; most were β-lactam allergy labels (85%), mostly to unspecified penicillins. There was an increasing incidence of antibiotic allergy label with age, which was statistically significant (P