When the public seeks a doctor on a daily basis, most of the medical staff will inquire regarding drug allergies. According to a study by the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, one in 50 Hong Kong residents is labeled as sensitive to penicillin, but following a formal allergy assessment, 90% of them are not allergic to it.
The Hong Kong University of Medicine previously launched the “Hong Kong Drug Sensitivity Delabelling Program”. Specialist nurses assess and review patients suspected of being allergic, and then conduct skin tests on the forearm according to “low risk” and “non-low risk” respectively. Further evaluation by a specialist. After the program evaluated 312 patients, it found that neither the new program nor conventional allergy testing revealed that nearly nine in 10 were not actually sensitive to penicillin.
New test increases patient reuse rate of penicillin
The School of Medicine continued that a higher proportion of patients who were evaluated by the program and removed the penicillin sensitivity label were reintroduced to penicillin within an average of 10 months compared with traditional allergy testing. The results of the study prompted the authorities to formulate new guidelines for penicillin allergy testing. The Hospital Authority has also established the “Hong Kong Drug Sensitivity Delabelling Program Clinics” in various districts this year. These clinics are run by non-allergist doctors and nurses, and provide treatment for most low-risk, suspected penicillin-sensitive patients. Patients provided for penicillin allergy evaluation and testing.
Studies have also pointed out that mislabeling may cause patients to switch to other drugs or treatments, thereby increasing mortality and leading to multi-drug resistance in bacteria. Li Xi, head of the Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, HKU, said that the planned new test mode can simplify the allergy testing procedure for most patients.
Originally published on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/local/Hong Kong University of Medicine penicillin test – 90% of sensitive people are not really allergic/349934?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral