Impact of an Antibiotic Side-Chain-Based Cross-reactivity Chart Combined With Enhanced Allergy Assessment Processes for Surgical Prophylaxis Antimicrobials in Patients With β-Lactam Allergies

Background. beta-Lactam antibiotics are first-line therapy for perioperative prophylaxis; however, patient-reported allergies often lead to increased prescribing of alternative antibiotics that may increase the incidence of surgical site infections. The R-group side chain of the beta-lactam ring is responsible for allergic cross-reactivity and experts recommend the use of beta-lactams that are structurally dissimilar. Methods. An internally developed, antibiotic side-chain-based cross-reactivity chart was developed and implemented alongside enhanced allergy assessment processes. This single-center, quasi-experimental study analyzed antibiotic prescribing in all adult patients with a documented beta-lactam allergy undergoing an inpatient surgical procedure between quartile (Q) 1 (2012)-Q3 (2014) (historical group) and Q3 (2016)-Q3 (2018) (intervention group). Propensity-weighted scoring analyses compared categorical and continuous outcomes. Interrupted time-series analysis further analyzed key outcomes. Results. A total of 1119 and 1089 patients were included in the historical and intervention cohorts, respectively. There was a significant difference in patients receiving a beta-lactam alternative antibiotic between cohorts (84.9% vs 15.1%; P < .001). There was a decrease in 30-day readmissions in the intervention cohort (7.9% vs 6.3%; P = .035); however, there was no difference in the incidence of SSIs in patients readmitted (14.8% vs 13%; P = .765). No significant differences were observed in allergic reactions (0.5% vs 0.3%; P = .323), surgical site infections, in-hospital and 30-day mortality, healthcare facility-onset Clostridiodes difficile infection, acute kidney injury, or hospital costs. Conclusions. Implementation of an antibiotic cross-reactivity chart combined with enhanced allergy assessment processes significantly improved the prescribing of beta-lactam antibiotics for surgical prophylaxis.

Automated summary

Implementation of an antibiotic cross-reactivity chart combined with enhanced allergy assessment processes significantly improved the prescribing of beta-lactam antibiotics for surgical prophylaxis. The intervention group had a lower readmission rate and a lower percentage of patients receiving beta-lactam alternative antibiotics, but no significant difference in surgical site infections was observed.