Penicillin allergy has been extensively studied and has become a prototype for the study of allergic drug reactions. A significant number of patients have been incorrectly labeled as allergic to penicillin and therefore are denied this effective, nontoxic, and relatively inexpensive antibiotic. On the other hand, penicillin is by far the most common cause of allergic drug reactions and the leading cause of anaphylaxis in the United States. We have the tools to identify patients at a high risk of anaphylaxis from penicillin and should therefore be able to decrease the incidence of penicillin-related anaphylaxis and fatalities and to avoid denying the benefits of penicillin to a large segment of the population that has been labeled as penicillin allergic.
青霉素过敏已得到广泛研究，并成为药物过敏反应研究的一个范例。相当多的患者被错误地贴上对青霉素过敏的标签，因此无法使用这种有效、无毒且相对便宜的抗生素。另一方面，青霉素是美国迄今为止最常见的药物过敏反应原因和过敏反应的主要诱因。我们有工具来识别有青霉素过敏反应高风险的患者，因此应该能够降低与青霉素相关的过敏反应和死亡的发生率，并避免剥夺一大批被贴上青霉素过敏标签人群使用青霉素的益处。
