Drug allergy labels and complications after surgery: a prospective multicentre cohort study
Main findingResult — go to the resultOdds ratio 1.21 CI 1.10–1.34Authors' conclusion
Patients with drug allergy labels experience worse postoperative outcomes, including infective and noninfective complications and an increased risk of allergic drug reactions.
Study context
- Population
- Adults ≥18 yr undergoing common surgical procedures in 21 UK NHS hospitals; excluded antibiotics in 2 weeks before surgery or previous participation
- Participants
- 13,646 adults · 21 hospitals
- Exposure
- Drug allergy label vs no label
- Labelledn = 3,924
- No drug allergy labeln = 9,722reference
- Outcome
- Composite postoperative complications:
- All postoperative infections
- Anastomotic leak
- ARDS
- MI
- Postoperative bleeding
- PE
- Stroke
- Antimicrobial side-effects
- Death
- Follow-up
- 30 days after surgery
Methodological detailsmulticentre, observational
- Multicentre
- Observational
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Odds ratio
1.21
CI 1.10–1.34
P < 0.001
Events by group
Labelled vs Unlabelled
OR 1.21 (CI 1.10–1.34); P < 0.001
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
- No increase in mortality in labelled patients
Safety
| Outcome | Labelled | OR (CI) | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allergic drug reactionsLabelled vs Unlabelled | 0.01% | 3.00 (1.77–5.09) | P < 0.001 | |
| 0.20.5125Odds ratio (log scale) |
- Allergic drug reactions: Unlabelled <0.01%
Parts of this Brief are withheld: the automatic checks could not confirm them against the abstract.
Original publication
Drug allergy labels and complications after surgery: a prospective multicentre cohort study. Br J Anaesth. Published 10 September 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →