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AAAAI: Company Forms to Re-Introduce Penicillin Allergy Skin Test By Paula Moyer SAN ANTONIO, TX -- March 22, 2005 -- A skin test will soon become available to identify patients with a history of penicillin allergy who are truly reactive to the antibiotic, according to presenters who discussed this development here March 21st at 61st annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology (AAAAI). A previous skin test for penicillin allergy was removed from the market in 2004, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified it as a penicillin product. Because the manufacturer was not approved to develop such products, it lost the license to market the test. Afterward, a team of AAAAI members formed a company, AllerQuest, whose goal was to pass the barriers that impeded the original manufacturer. AllerQuest plans to apply to the FDA for approval of its new test within 6 months, so that it will be available commercially in the United States within a year. The availability of the test "will be helpful to physicians, patients, and the public health in general," said AAAAI President Michael Schatz, MD, chief of allergy, Kaiser Permanente, San Diego, California, during a press conference. "This permits us to provide better care of our patients by allowing us to identify the individuals who can safely take penicillins." Dr. Schatz also noted that alternative effective antibiotics typically prescribed to such patients are usually more expensive and cover a broader spectrum of microbes; therefore, using the alternatives can promote antibiotic resistance. Although approximately 10% of the U.S. population has a history of presumed penicillin allergy, significant allergy may actually be less prevalent. In recent research that reviewed the data in an electronic health record system with more than 3 million patients, reactions were noted in 0.18% of penicillin prescriptions. Among those who were listed as having a penicillin allergy history, less than 10% have a confirmed diagnosis after undergoing skin testing with penicillin reagents, according to information provided during the press conference. The availability of a penicillin allergy skin test will enable most patients with this history but a negative test to try penicillin, according to AAAAI literature. Such patients typically receive alternatives such as vancomycin, fluoroquinalones, and clindamycin. Some studies estimate that in-hospital antibiotic costs are approximately 60% higher for such patients, and that, conversely, if penicillin allergy testing is done, antibiotic costs can be cut by 50% to 80% in this population. Approximately 28 million individuals in the United States have a history of penicillin allergy. Individuals who have a positive history but a negative skin test tolerate penicillin-class antibiotics as well as they tolerate other antibiotics, according to AAAAI literature. Although the skin test is as safe as skin testing for other allergens, a few patients will become re-sensitised after skin testing and subsequent use of penicillin. The skin test exposes the patient to an amount of penicillin that consists of 1/5000th of that found in a typical prescription. E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version