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TOPLINE:

Beta-lactam allergy de-labeling was safe and effective for older adult patients, successfully removing false allergy labels in 87.3% of cases, with no patients requiring hospitalization or adrenaline administration.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers conducted a decade-long retrospective analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of beta-lactam allergy evaluations in older adult patients previously labeled as allergic.
• The analysis included 166 older adult patients (mean age, 71 years; 72.9% women) who were evaluated between 2009 and 2019 for suspected beta-lactam allergy.
• All participants underwent comprehensive anamnesis, skin testing, and, when indicated, an oral challenge; those who were successfully de-labeled underwent long-term follow-up to monitor beta-lactam use and outcomes.

TAKEAWAY:

• Beta-lactam allergy was ruled out in 87.3% of patients; 9.6% had immediate-type hypersensitivity reactions, 2.4% had severe delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions, and 0.6% experienced a benign rash.
• No participant required hospitalization or emergency adrenaline treatment during the evaluation.
• In a long-term follow-up (3-13 years) of 106 patients, 35.8% were treated with the previously suspected beta-lactam agent, and no immediate-type or severe delayed-type hypersensitivity reactions were reported.

IN PRACTICE:

“Increased awareness is crucial for enhancing allergic workup in the geriatric population bearing beta-lactam allergy labels,” the authors wrote. “We believe that establishing the removal rate of false BL [beta-lactam] allergy labels as a healthcare quality metric and making it mandatory under the supervision of health authorities will improve outcomes for both the general population and the geriatric population,” they added.

SOURCE:

Saray Sity-Harel, MD, with Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel, was the corresponding author of the study, which was published online in Journal of Clinical Medicine.

LIMITATIONS:

This study had a single-center design and limited patient follow-up data, which may reduce the generalizability of the findings and the validity of the outcomes.

DISCLOSURES:

The authors reported having no conflicts of interest.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.