Table 1.
Baseline Characteristics of Patients Assessed With a Penicillin Allergy
| Characteristic | Overall (N = 1225) |
Non-delabeled (n = 870) |
Delabeled (n = 355) |
P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male sex | 487 (39.8) | 332 (38.2) | 155 (43.7) | .082 |
| Age, y, median (IQR) | 66 (52–78) | 66 (51–77) | 68 (55–80) | .022 |
| White ethnicity | 1125 (91.8) | 793 (91.1) | 332 (93.5) | .21 |
| Study site | ||||
| Austin | 1029 (84.0) | 732 (84.1) | 297 (83.7) | .86 |
| PMCC | 196 (16.0) | 138 (15.9) | 58 (16.3) | |
| Admitting unit | ||||
| Medical | 708 (57.8) | 491 (56.4) | 217 (61.1) | .32 |
| Surgical | 400 (32.7) | 294 (33.8) | 106 (29.9) | |
| Other | 117 (9.6) | 85 (9.8) | 32 (9.0) | |
| Resident of aged care facility | 44 (3.6) | 32 (3.7) | 12 (3.4) | 1 |
| ICU admission | 74 (6.0) | 59 (6.8) | 15 (4.2) | .11 |
| CCI, median (IQR) | 4 (2–6) | 4 (2–6) | 4 (2–7) | .015 |
| LOS, d, from admission to oral challenge (or assessment if no oral challenge), median (IQR) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–2) | 1 (1–3) | < .001 |
| Immunocompromised | 510 (41.6) | 355 (40.8) | 155 (43.7) | .37 |
| Mental health history | 299 (24.4) | 216 (24.8) | 83 (23.4) | .61 |
| Microbiological diagnosis (index admission) | 135 (11.0) | 80 (9.2) | 55 (15.5) | .024 |
| Admission diagnosis | ||||
| Noninfective diagnosis | 523 (42.7) | 395 (45.4) | 128 (36.1) | .003 |
| Infective diagnosis | 702 (57.3) | 475 (54.6) | 227 (63.9) | |
| Bone and joint | 17 (1.4) | 8 (0.9) | 9 (2.5) | .028 |
| Bacteremia | 4 (0.3) | 3 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | .86 |
| Central nervous system | 4 (0.3) | 3 (0.3) | 1 (0.3) | .86 |
| Pneumonia | 81 (6.6) | 51 (5.9) | 30 (8.5) | .098 |
| Intra-abdominal | 84 (6.9) | 54 (6.2) | 30 (8.5) | .16 |
| Intravascular infection | 4 (0.3) | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.6) | .35 |
| Gastroenteritis | 11 (0.9) | 8 (0.9) | 3 (0.8) | .90 |
| Infection from unknown source | 19 (1.6) | 16 (1.8) | 3 (0.8) | .20 |
| Skin and soft tissue | 96 (7.8) | 65 (7.5) | 31 (8.7) | .46 |
| Surgical prophylaxis | 250 (20.4) | 184 (21.1) | 66 (18.6) | .31 |
| Urogenital | 48 (3.9) | 32 (3.7) | 16 (4.5) | .50 |
| Upper respiratory tract | 17 (1.4) | 9 (1.0) | 8 (2.3) | .098 |
| Ear, nose, and throat | 5 (0.4) | 3 (0.3) | 2 (0.6) | .59 |
| Other | 139 (11.3) | 87 (10.0) | 52 (14.6) | .020 |
| Bacterial infection | 107 (8.7) | 65 (7.5) | 42 (11.8) | .52 |
| Sepsis | 58 (4.7) | 36 (4.1) | 22 (6.2) | .38 |
| Nonantibiotic drug allergy | 396 (32.3) | 287 (33.0) | 109 (30.7) | .44 |
| No. of different antibiotic allergies, median (IQR) | 1 (1–1) | 1 (1–1) | 1 (1–1) | .003 |
| Nonpenicillin β-lactam allergy | 96 (7.8) | 79 (9.1) | 17 (4.8) | .011 |
| Antibiotic sulfonamide allergy (or sulfonamide unclassified) | 75 (6.1) | 53 (6.1) | 22 (6.2) | .94 |
| Previously reviewed in antibiotic allergy clinic | 30 (2.4) | 29 (3.3) | 1 (0.3) | .002 |
Data are presented as no. (%) unless otherwise indicated.
Abbreviations: CCI, age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index; ICU, intensive care unit; IQR, interquartile range; LOS, length of stay; PMCC, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.