Drug allergy screening
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Charmaine Patel, M.D. [2]
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Drug Allergy |
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Diagnosis |
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Treatment |
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Case Studies |
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Drug allergy screening On the Web |
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American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Drug allergy screening |
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Risk calculators and risk factors for Drug allergy screening |
Overview
Screening options for drug allergies are limited. This is mainly because drug allergies fall under the type B unpredictable type drug reactions that occur only in susceptible individuals. To screen for drug allergy, one would have to be exposed to the drug, which may mean putting the individual at an uneccesary risk for a severe drug reaction through a screening test.
Screening for Drug Allergy in Specific Circumstances
- Skin prick testing (SPT) and intradermal testing (a test where a small amount of allergen is injected into the dermal layer of the skin) are useful for predicting an allergic reaction mediated by IgE-mediated reactions. Skin testing protocols are standardized for drugs such as penecillin, and are also useful (but rarely positive) for locall anesthetics, muscle relaxants, and very sensitive for high-molecular-weight protein substances such as insulin and monoclonal antibodies.