Pharmacist-led AMS reduces both inappropriate antibiotic allergy labeling & prescribing of restricted antibiotics
Mar 19, 2019
Antibiotic allergies are reported on labels for up to 25% of hospitalized patients, but can compromise appropriate prescribing. In recent Australian research, a pharmacist-led penicillin allergy de-labeling ward round examined hospital inpatients with a documented penicillin allergy receiving an antibiotic (identified via an electronic medical report) who then proceeded to review by a pharmacist-led antimicrobial stewardship team. Over 5 months, 106 patients were evaluated. The highest rate of penicillin allergy de-labeling was for patients referred for an inpatient oral re-challenge with 95.2% (n = 21) successfully having their penicillin allergy removed. From 22 patients with Type A reactions, 63.6% had their penicillin allergy label removed. There was an associated significant decrease in the prescribing of restricted antibiotics after review (pre-intervention 42.5% versus post-intervention 17.9%, p < 0.001). The more details of the study, published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, can be viewed here
