Implementing PEN-FAST for penicillin allergy delabeling in a high-prevalence population.

ABSTRACT:

Background and objectives

Self-reported penicillin allergies lead to the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics, increase drug resistance, and constitute an economic burden. The PEN-FAST score aims to identify low-risk patients for direct drug provocation tests (DPT) without prior skin testing with a reported negative predictive value (NPV) of over 95%.

Patients and methods

In this single-center study (Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany), the PEN-FAST score was evaluated for patients carrying a penicillin allergy label between 2004 and 2024. Skin testing, allergen-specific IgE, and consecutive DPT were performed.

Results

A total of 189 patients were analyzed. In a retrospective cohort, 106 of 149 patients showed negative skin tests and recei

SUBMITTER: Gocebe D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12800881 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature