Women 3-4 times more likely to have penicillin allergy
Skin testing findings support being female as a risk factor for penicillin reaction
Women are 3-4 times more likely than men to have a positive penicillin skin test, a US study shows.
It is important for doctors to know that being female is a risk factor for penicillin allergy, says researcher Dr Dayne Voelker, of the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education in Minnesota.
Research has shown higher rates of adverse drug reactions in women, but there is mixed data on whether female gender is a risk factor in IgE-mediated penicillin drug allergy.
To investigate, the Mayo Clinic team reviewed the electronic medical records of more than 30,000 patients with a history of penicillin allergy who underwent penicillin skin testing (PST) from 2001-17.
