Data from a study published online in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases suggest that patients with a reported penicillin allergy may have a 50 percent increased chance of contracting a surgical site infection (SSI). 

The researchers conducted a retrospective cohort study of 8,385 patients who had undergone 9,004 surgical procedures, including hip arthroplasty or knee arthroplasty, and found that SSI developed in 241 patients (2.7 percent) of whom 3.5 percent reported a penicillin allergy and 2.6 percent reported no allergy. Patients with a documented penicillin allergy received less effective antibiotics, including clindamycin, vancomycin, and gentamicin. The authors note that most patients with a documented penicillin allergy may not be allergic. Learn more...