Is penicillin-allergy rate overstated?

The number of people allergic to penicillin may be much smaller than physicians currently

suspect, new data suggest.

During 3 months last year, researchers identified 24 people in the intensive care unit of the

Cleveland Clinic whose medical charts showed a history of penicillin allergy. But when the

researchers subjected 21 of these patients to skin-scratch tests for penicillin reactions, the

results were negative for all but one.