Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40756538›Full record

ArticlePaediatrics & child health2025

Success of amoxicillin challenges in the emergency department for children with low risk of serious reactions.

Camille Gervais, Luc Panetta, Philippe Ovetchkine, Hélène Roy, Maria Buithieu, Anne Des Roches, Stéphanie Pellerin, Evelyne D Trottier

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Paediatrics & child health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

8 authors.

Camille GervaisFaculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Luc PanettaPediatric Emergency Department, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Hôpital Femme-Mère-Enfant, Lyon, France.
Philippe OvetchkineDivision of Infectious Diseases, Pediatric Department, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Hélène RoyPharmacy Department, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Maria BuithieuPediatric Department, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Anne Des RochesAllergy Division, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Stéphanie PellerinPediatric Emergency Department, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Evelyne D TrottierPediatric Department, CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to address the overdiagnosis of penicillin allergies in the pediatric population, which leads to less effective antibiotic usage. We investigated the effectiveness of standardized oral amoxicillin challenges in the emergency departments (EDs) of pediatric patients with previous reactions but a low risk for serious reactions. Methods: Children under 18 years of age who reported allergy to any penicillin presenting to the ED of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Sainte-Justine (CHUSJ), Montreal, Quebec, Canada, with a clinical requirement for amoxicillin treatment were included if their risk of anaphylaxis was judged to be low. We evaluated immediate and delayed reactions, patient demographics, the impact on resource utilization, and the number of patients no longer considered to be allergic to penicillins at the 1-month follow-up. Results: From August 2021 through April 2023, 100 children received an oral amoxicillin challenge in the ED. Among them, 93% safely received amoxicillin without an immediate reaction and were discharged with amoxicillin from the ED. Seven participants had immediate reactions which included skin rashes or vomiting, with one participant experiencing an anaphylactic reaction. Five of the seven subsequently had an amoxicillin challenge by an allergist and only the one with anaphylaxis in the ED reacted. Suspected delayed reactions were observed in 4 of the other 89 (4%) participants who could be contacted within 30 days of the challenge and consisted of skin rashes. Three of the four subsequently had an amoxicillin challenge by an allergist and one reacted. Then, two patients (2%) had confirmed allergies following suspected reactions: one patient with the anaphylactic reaction, and the other with the delayed reaction. Overall, 79/89 (89%) of patients with 30-day follow-up could have their allergy label removed without an allergist consultation. Conclusions: Standardized oral amoxicillin challenges in low-risk pediatric ED patients allowed for the removal of penicillin allergy labels in 89% of patients reached for follow-up without an allergist consultation. This approach enhanced patient care, allowing 93% of participants to be discharged from the ED with an amoxicillin prescription. Only 2 of 100 children had proven amoxicillin allergy; another 3 had reactions but no assessment by an allergist.

Indexed as

Allergy labelAmoxicillin challengesAntibiotic managementEmergency departmentLow-risk allergyOral provocation challengePediatric populationPenicillin allergy

Identifiers

PMID40756538
PMCPMC12316527

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.