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Previous Volume 345:804-809 September 13, 2001 Number 11 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Cephalosporin antibiotics are widely prescribed for common infections such as bronchitis, otitis media, pneumonia, and cellulitis. They are also administered as first-line prophylaxis for many types of surgical procedures. A relative contraindication to these agents is a history of allergy to penicillin. In this situation, many clinicians select a different class of antibiotic, such as vancomycin. However, the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant organisms demands that the selection of antibiotics be made only after careful evaluation. In this article, we review allergy to cephalosporins, with special attention to the risks of administering them to patients with a history of penicillin allergy.

Reactions to Cephalosporins

Common . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Skin Reactions

Serum-Sickness–like Reaction

Fever

Anaphylaxis

Immunohematologic Reaction

Cross-Reactivity with Penicillin

Risk Factors

Medical History

Tests for Cephalosporin Allergy

Skin Tests for Penicillin Allergy

Recommendations

Patients with Penicillin Allergy

Patients with Cephalosporin Allergy

Desensitization

Test Dosing

Conclusions

Source Information

From the Divisions of Allergy and Outpatient Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Li at the Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905, or at li.james@mayo.edu.

References

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