
An examination of the health records of more than 330,000 children in two large pediatric primary care networks has raised concerns about the validity of penicillin allergy labels, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
The results showed that many penicillin allergy labels (PALs) in children were placed before 2 years and age and after little or no exposure to penicillin.
Margaret G. Taylor, MD, a clinical postdoctoral fellow at Baylor College of Medicine, and colleagues noted that unconfirmed PALs could lead to unnecessary use of broad-spectrum, second-line antibiotics.
Children