Cost and Risk Analysis of Lifelong Penicillin Allergy.

Patients labeled as being penicillin-allergic require the use of alternative antibiotics. The objective of this study was to estimate the lifetime antibiotic costs of patients labeled as being penicillin allergic prior to age 10 compared with those who were not penicillin allergic and to compare antibiotic utilization between these 2 groups with regard to risks of adverse effects. Using the low end of the antibiotic cost range, penicillin-allergic patients had a mean lifetime antibiotic cost of $8171 per patient, compared with $6278 for non-penicillin-allergic patients, a difference of $1893. Penicillin-allergic patients utilized more moderate-spectrum antibiotics, more fluoroquinolones, and had a higher estimated Clostridium difficile risk.