Clinical Trials

Cephalosporin antibiotics are commonly used but can result in allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. There is no clear diagnostic approach for cephalosporin-allergic patients, and guidance for the use of other antibiotics in allergic patients is based on side chain chemical similarity and limited skin testing evidence. This project includes a clinical trial and mechanistic studies to optimize the approach to cephalosporin allergy and advance future diagnostics.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the rate of compliance for having an emergency epinephrine autoinjector readily accessible in adults with allergies, and to determine factors that negatively influence adults with allergies for having an emergency epinephrine autoinjector readily accessible.

The goal is to assess the criterion and predictive validity of the diagnostic criteria for anaphylaxis proposed by the 2nd Symposium on the Definition and Management of Anaphylaxis. Determination of the clinical utility of the diagnostic criteria is essential for the criteria to be widely adopted into clinical practice.  Prospectively, the NIAID/FAAN criteria continued to be highly sensitive (95%) but had lower specificity (71%) than on retrospective assessment. These criteria are likely to be useful for the diagnosis of anaphylaxis in the ED.