Evidence map›Paper›PMID 26970431›Full record

ArticleAllergy2016

Drug allergies documented in electronic health records of a large healthcare system.

L Zhou, N Dhopeshwarkar, K G Blumenthal, F Goss, M Topaz, S P Slight, D W Bates

Open access · greenAbstract readMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Allergy, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 145 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
145citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
17.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

145 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 297 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Trial
  6. Article
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  11. Penicillin allergy labels increase risks of MRSA colonization, surgical site infections, and mortality.Pediatric allergy and immunology : official publication of the European Society of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology · 2026
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85 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.

L ZhouDivision of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
N DhopeshwarkarDivision of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
K G BlumenthalAllergy and Immunology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
F GossDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA.
M TopazDivision of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
S P SlightDivision of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
D W BatesDivision of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
Harvard University · USBrigham and Women's Hospital · USDurham University · GBMassachusetts General Hospital · USMass General Brigham · USUniversity of Colorado Denver · US

Funding

Encoding and Processing Patient Allergy Information in EHRsR01HS022728 · AHRQ · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI ZHOU, LI · 2013 to 2016
$2.0M
AHRQ HHS R01 HS022728AHRQ HHS R01 HS025375
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe prevalence of drug allergies documented in electronic health records (EHRs) of large patient populations is understudied.

objectiveWe aimed to describe the prevalence of common drug allergies and patient characteristics documented in EHRs of a large healthcare network over the last two decades.

methodsDrug allergy data were obtained from EHRs of patients who visited two large tertiary care hospitals in Boston from 1990 to 2013. The prevalence of each drug and drug class was calculated and compared by sex and race/ethnicity. The number of allergies per patient was calculated and the frequency of patients having 1, 2, 3…, or 10+ drug allergies was reported. We also conducted a trend analysis by comparing the proportion of each allergy to the total number of drug allergies over time.

resultsAmong 1 766 328 patients, 35.5% of patients had at least one reported drug allergy with an average of 1.95 drug allergies per patient. The most commonly reported drug allergies in this population were to penicillins (12.8%), sulfonamide antibiotics (7.4%), opiates (6.8%), and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (3.5%). The relative proportion of allergies to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and HMG CoA reductase inhibitors (statins) have more than doubled since early 2000s. Drug allergies were most prevalent among females and white patients except for NSAIDs, ACE inhibitors, and thiazide diuretics, which were more prevalent in black patients.

conclusionFemales and white patients may be more likely to experience a reaction from common medications. An increase in reported allergies to ACE inhibitors and statins is noteworthy.

Indexed as

Electronic Health RecordsDatabases, FactualDrug HypersensitivityFemaleHumansMaleMassachusettsPharmaceutical PreparationsPopulation SurveillancePrevalencePharmaceutical Preparationsadverse drug eventdrug allergydrug hypersensitivityelectronic health recordssafety

Identifiers

PMID26970431
PMCPMC12841114
OpenAlexW2295039456

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.