Perioperative medicine & outcomes
Penicillin allergy risk stratification tool for use by non‐allergists in the peri‐operative setting: an agreement study and qualitative process evaluation
Authors' conclusion
This penicillin allergy risk stratification tool, designed for use by healthcare professionals with no formal allergy training, showed poor agreement with allergy expert assessments.
Study context
- Population
- Adults undergoing surgery labelled penicillin allergic101 completed both assessments
- Participants
- 139 adults
- Comparison
- Non-allergist vs Allergist
- Outcome
- Agreement on suitability for a penicillin challenge test (Cohen's kappa)
Methodological detailstwo-centre, mixed-method
- Two-centre
- Mixed-method
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Agreement between allergist and non-allergist assessments of suitability for penicillin challenge
- Assessments agreed
- 63 (62%)
- Assessments disagreed, mostly overcautious non-allergist
- 38 (38%)
- Unsuitable (or uncertain) by allergist but suitable by non-allergist
- 7
- Unweighted κ (moderate), 95%CI 0.30-0.57
- 0.43
- Weighted κ, 95%CI 0.27-0.67
- 0.47
- Prevalence and bias-adjusted κ (poor reliability), 95%CI 0.06-0.44
- 0.25
Further findings
User experience (qualitative interviews)
- Low confidence in the tool among non-allergists, perceived need for allergy training and specialist support
Original publication
Penicillin allergy risk stratification tool for use by non‐allergists in the peri‐operative setting: an agreement study and qualitative process evaluation. Anaesthesia. Published 14 September 2025. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →