Impact of antibiotic allergy labels on patient outcomes in a tertiary paediatric hospital

Abstract

Aims: Antibiotic allergies are reported in 5–15% of children. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of common β-lactam antibiotic allergy labels (AALs) on hospital treatment, focusing on length of stay and appropriateness of antibiotic prescribing. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study over 21 months at the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne, Australia. A subset of children with the most common β-lactam allergies, and who required admission for intravenous antibiotics over a 12-month period, was analysed for appropriateness of prescribing. Non-allergic patients were matched to evaluate associations between AALs and hospital treatment. Results: There were 98 912 children admitted ..