Assessing Low-Risk Penicillin Allergies in Critical COVID-19, A Novel Perspective on an Emerging Antibiotic Allergy Opportunity

Although we know that patient-reported antibiotic allergies (so-called antibiotic allergy labels [AALs]) are frequently reported in critically ill patients and associated with significant negative patient and health care outcomes,1 programs focused on point-of-care delabeling strategies in the intensive care unit (ICU) have been limited. In this issue of the journal, Stollings et al2 report a single-center cohort study addressing penicillin allergy labels in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-positive patients in the ICU, demonstrating 19 successful direct oral challenges with subsequent removal of the penicillin allergy label and direct impact on inpatient antimicrobial prescribing.