Abstract

This review looks at the main issues around immediate hypersensitivity and the role and limitations of testing. The majority of literature on antibiotic hypersensitivity relates to β-lactam antibiotics, mainly because of the heavy usage of this class of drugs. Concerns around cross-reactivity always worry clinicians, particularly in the emergency situation. Reasonable data now exist in relation to β-lactam antibiotics and derivatives, which enable appropriate risk management to be undertaken. The available literature for other classes of antibiotics is also discussed.