Table 4. Investigations for immediate drug hypersensitivity.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Skin prick test and intradermal test | |||
| Drugs commonly tested (n = 15) | |||
| Cephalosporins | 13 (86.7) | ||
| Penicillin | 12 (80.0) | ||
| General anaesthetic agents | 11 (73.3) | ||
| Local Anaesthetic agents | 10 (66.7) | ||
| Radiocontrast media | 9 (60) | ||
| NSAIDs | 6 (40) | ||
| Carbapenems | 4 (26.7) | ||
| Non–beta-lactam antibiotics | 4 (26.7) | ||
| Source of penicilloyl polylysine (n = 10) | |||
| Diater® | 6 (60.0) | ||
| In-house | 3 (30.0) | ||
| Source of minor determinant mix (n = 9) | |||
| Diater® | 6 (66.7) | ||
| In-house | 3 (33.3) | ||
| Persons who prepare the drugs for skin testing (n = 15) | |||
| Allergist | 15 (100) | ||
| Nurse/clinicians/specialist | 4 (26.7) | ||
| Pharmacist | 3 (20.0) | ||
| Dermatologist | 1 (6.7) | ||
| Specific IgE in vitro tests | |||
| Types of available assay (n = 15) | |||
| Commercial | 8 (53.3) | ||
| In-house preparation | 3 (20.0) | ||
| Both | 2 (13.3) | ||
| Neither | 2 (13.3) | ||
| Types of commercial assay used (n = 14) | |||
| CAP-FEIA (Phadia ImmunoCAP®) | 13 (92.9) | ||
| RAST (Radioallergosorbent test®) | 5 (35.7) | ||
| Drugs commonly tested using these in vitro methods (n = 13) | |||
| Penicilloyl G | 8 (61.5) | ||
| Penicilloyl V | 7 (53.8) | ||
| Ampicilloyl | 7 (53.8) | ||
| Amoxicilloyl | 7 (53.8) | ||
| Alfa-gal | 6 (46.2) | ||
| Cefaclor | 6 (46.2) | ||
| Chlorhexidine | 2 (15.4) | ||
| Gelatin | 2 (15.4) | ||
| General anaesthetic agents | 2 (15.4) | ||
| NSAIDs | 2 (15.4) | ||
| Suxamethonium | 2 (15.4) | ||
| Cephalosporins | 1 (7.7) | ||
| Morphine | 1 (7.7) | ||
| Pholcodine | 1 (7.7) | ||
| No. with serum tryptase available for test (n = 15) | 13 (86.7) | ||
| No. with basophil activation test available for drug hypersensitivity (n = 15) | 9 (60.0) | ||
NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.