Study finds children more likely to be allergic to amoxicillin

American College of Allergy, Asthma and ImmunologyNov 15 2010

Children are more likely to have an allergy to amoxicillin than adults, according to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Phoenix Nov. 11-16. Amoxicillin is a form of penicillin.

Of the 62 penicillin-allergic children studied, 34 percent tested positive for amoxicillin compared to 14 percent of adults. Children were also more likely to be positive solely to amoxicillin when compared with the adult population.

"Amoxicillin should be considered as part of the penicillin skin test panel when testing children, and if included, there may be a better chance of detecting penicillin allergy in this group," say the study's authors.