Antibiotics and Allergy
(click on the diagram to open a full sized version)
Antibiotics account for a large
proportion of allergic drug reactions.
Penicillins, in particular TazocinŽand
Co-Amoxiclav are the ones most
commonly implicated in the trust.
Inadvertent administration of
penicillin's to patients with a declared
penicillin allergy is one of the most
common medication related incidents.
Estimates for penicillin allergy vary
but the approximate incidence of
general hypersentisitivity reactions
(e.g. rash) is 1-10%. Anaphylactic
reactions (which can be fatal) occur
in fewer than 0.05%
