Latest news with #penicillin
The Independent
3 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Patients with penicillin allergy may benefit from further tests, study suggests
The majority of patients recorded as having a penicillin allergy may not be truly allergic to the antibiotic, a first-of-its-kind trial suggests. Those with the marker on their medical records could benefit from tests to confirm or rule out an allergy, according to researchers. Removing incorrect labels could help improve care for patients while tackling antibiotic resistance and saving money for the NHS, they said. For the Alabama trial, published in the Lancet Primary Care and led by the University of Leeds, researchers recruited 823 patients from 51 GP practices in England. Those taking part had no history of severe reactions to penicillin. Some patients were tested for a penicillin allergy, with either an oral dose of the antibiotic or a small injection under the skin. If there was no immediate reaction, patients were given a three-day course of penicillin to take at home, where they were monitored by the research team. Of the 365 people tested for an allergy, some 234 had an oral test, with 13 testing positive, while 131 had a skin test, three of which were positive. Elsewhere, 128 patients had an oral test after a skin test, with 14 testing positive for an allergy. Overall, the study found 30 patients tested positive for a penicillin allergy, while 335 – or 92% – tested negative. After three months, 276 patients had the allergy removed from their medical records. And after 12 months, allergies were removed from the records of 321 patients, or 88% of the group that was tested. Dr Jonathan Sandoe, lead author and associate clinical professor in microbiology at the University of Leeds School of Medicine and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: 'Antibiotics have been life-saving drugs since the late 1930s, but we are now in an era where microbes are evolving to resist the effects of current antibiotics. 'The global challenge of antibiotic resistance is causing people to die of common infections, so it is vital to find ways to improve how antibiotics are used. 'Assessing people with penicillin allergy labels is one way we can achieve this.' Patients who had the allergy check also had fewer antibiotics overall, the study suggests. As part of the study, researchers analysed the cost-effectiveness of allergy testing based on the NHS model. They said that although results may vary in different countries, the study observed 'tendency towards reducing consultations, days in hospital, and emergency admissions' which 'suggest that the penicillin allergy assessment pathway is cost-effective in the short run and increasingly likely to be so over longer follow-up periods'. Researchers now suggest that 'access to penicillin allergy assessment for patients should be widened'. Dr Sandoe added: 'This research shows that removing incorrect penicillin allergy labels has the potential to improve patient experiences, reduce health costs and tackle bacterial resistance. 'Now, we need to work together with policymakers and patients to help the NHS to address this issue.' Professor Sue Pavitt from the University of Leeds, who jointly led the study, said her mother Rosie Woollard had a penicillin allergy added to her medical records in the 1950s. She had been prescribed the antibiotic for mastitis – a common infection usually linked with breastfeeding – and developed a rash. Prof Pavitt said: 'My mum was vigilant and avoided taking penicillin from that day, but her allergy was never checked. 'It may have been a simple reaction to the other substances used in manufacturing the tablet or her rash was just a consequence of the infection. 'When my mum got older and had more underlying health problems, we noticed that when she had an infection, she often needed two or three courses of different antibiotics before the infection would clear. 'Each round of antibiotics took a toll on her wellbeing, appetite and ability to bounce back until the infection was under control.' Ms Woollard developed repeated urinary tract infections later in life and died at the age of 91. Her cause of death was recorded as an antimicrobial infection. Prof Pavitt said: 'Antibiotic allergy and resistant bugs are complex concepts to understand – she was our barometer to see if we were explaining things clearly. 'She was also instrumental in making the Alabama trial open to older people with multiple long-term conditions, a group that is often excluded from research but important to reach. 'This research is in part her legacy and shows the value of preserving antibiotics, so that we can keep fighting infections with these important medicines.' Christopher Butler, a professor of primary care in the Nuffield department of primary care health sciences at the University of Oxford, said: 'It's this kind of research question that has a huge impact on improving care for individuals, improving cost-effectiveness of what we do as clinicians, and helps us preserve the precious shared resource of of antibiotics to all of us and to future generations.'
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Millions of people with a common allergy may not actually be allergic at all, first-of-its-kind trial suggests
Millions of people mistakenly believe they are allergic to penicillin, experts warned today. Around three million Britons are listed on their medical records as having suffered a reaction to penicillin, making it unsafe for them to take it to treat infections, ranging from a dental abscess to a throat infection or meningitis. Yet, British researchers who tested almost 1,000 patients with the allergy, found almost 90 per cent could actually safely use the antibiotic. Instead, many were labelled as allergic after developing borderline allergy-like symptoms—such as vomiting or a rash—when given the drug as a child. Scientists hope the findings could both pave the way for millions more people to benefit from the medication, regarded as one of the most effective antibiotics available, and tackle the threat of antibiotic resistance. Patients who cannot currently take penicillin for infections are instead treated with a different class of medication—broad-spectrum antibiotics, such as doxycycline. As broad-spectrum antibiotics target a wider range of organisms, they increase the risk of antibiotic resistance, and are linked with higher rates of potentially deadly hospital-acquired infection, such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile. Dr Jonathan Sandoe, study lead author and expert in microbiology at the University of Leeds, said: 'Antibiotics have been life-saving drugs since the late 1930s, but we are now in an era where microbes are evolving to resist the effects of current antibiotics. 'The global challenge of antibiotic resistance is causing people to die of common infections, so it is vital to find ways to improve how antibiotics are used. 'Assessing people with penicillin allergy labels is one way we can achieve this.' He added: 'This research shows that removing incorrect penicillin allergy labels has the potential to improve patient experiences, reduce health costs and tackle bacterial resistance. 'Now, we need to work together with policymakers and patients to help the NHS to address this issue.' In the trial, researchers tracked more than 300 patients from 51 GP practices in England, all of whom had no history of severe reactions to penicillin. They were tested for a penicillin allergy, with either an oral dose of the antibiotic or a small injection under the skin. If there was no immediate reaction, they were given a three-day course of penicillin to take at home, where they were monitored by the research team. They found 30 patients tested positive for a penicillin allergy, while 335—92 per cent—tested negative. After three months, 276 patients had the allergy removed from their medical records. And after 12 months, allergies were removed from the records of 321 patients—88 per cent of the group that was tested. Writing in the journal Lancet Primary Care, the scientists said 'access to penicillin allergy assessment for patients should be widened'. As part of the study, researchers also analysed the cost-effectiveness of allergy testing based on the NHS model. They said that although results may vary in different countries, the study observed 'tendency towards reducing consultations, days in hospital, and emergency admissions' which 'suggest that the penicillin allergy assessment pathway is cost-effective in the short run and increasingly likely to be so over longer follow-up periods'. Christopher Butler, a professor of primary care at the University of Oxford, said: 'It's this kind of research question that has a huge impact on improving care for individuals, improving cost-effectiveness of what we do as clinicians, and helps us preserve the precious shared resource of of antibiotics to all of us and to future generations.' Penicillin allergy is often self-diagnosed by people who've had symptoms, such as diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, headache or bloating, while being treated with the medication. According to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, being labelled as allergic to penicillin is associated with a higher mortality rate of an extra six deaths per 1,000 patients in the year following treatment for infection. This is because the drug saves lives that other medications can't.
The Independent
06-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Churchill documents reveal D-Day landings boosted by import of ‘wonder drug' from America
Newly unearthed documents have revealed that the D-Day landings received a boost from the import of a "wonder drug" from America. Despite its discovery in London in 1928 by Sir Alexander Fleming, large-scale production of the antibiotic penicillin had struggled to take hold in Britain. Attempts to produce substantial quantities of medicine from the bacteria-killing mould had not been achieved by the start of the Second World War. Then prime minister Sir Winston Churchill became increasingly frustrated that Britain had not been able to produce enough penicillin in the preparations for the Normandy landings in 1944. Official papers released by the National Archive – containing handwritten notes by Sir Winston – highlight efforts to boost quantities of the antibiotic, with Britain eventually forced to import it from America. The documents were released ahead of the 81st anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944. In one report on February 19, after the issue had been raised in the House of Commons, Sir Winston scrawled in red ink on a Ministry of Supply report noting the Americans were producing greater quantities: 'I am sorry we can't produce more.' On another paper, he complained: 'Your report on penicillin showing that we are only to get about one tenth of the expected output this year, is very disappointing.' Elsewhere in the same file he instructs: 'Let me have proposals for a more abundant supply from Great Britain.' With preparations for D-Day ramped up, efforts to deliver enough American-made penicillin for frontline military personnel soon became a matter of urgency. Decisions needed to be made on the quantities of antibiotic imported, how much to administer to individual patients, and how to get medical staff trained in time. Most British doctors did not know how to issue penicillin – until this point, doctors had nothing available to treat infections like pneumonia and many people died of blood poisoning after minor injuries because no drug existed that could cure them. Early in January 1944, Prof FR Fraser, the Ministry of Health's adviser on the organisation of wartime hospitals, wrote that 50,000-100,000 wounded could be expected from the Second Front. He proposed the Emergency Medical Services might need as many as five billion units of penicillin per month for this. Further documents show discussions on whether the antibiotic should be supplied as calcium or sodium salts, or in tablet form. Ultimately, it was agreed powdered calcium salts would be issued for superficial wounds and sodium salts for use in deep wounds. On May 24 1944, less than a fortnight before D-Day, Prof Fraser reported: 'Sufficient supplies of penicillin are now available for the treatment of battle casualties in EMS hospitals, but not for ordinary civilian patients.' Plans were made for casualties from the frontline in France to be brought back to coastal hospitals in Britain for treatment. A week before D-Day, on May 30 1944, hospitals were instructed to treat battlefield patients en route: 'In an endeavour to prevent the development of gas gangrene and sepsis in wounds the War Office have arranged for the treatment of selected cases by penicillin to be commenced as soon after injury as possible.' Injections of penicillin were to be given to them at intervals of not more than five hours and patients would be wearing a yellow label with the letters 'PEN'. The time and size of penicillin doses should be written on it, they were told. Dr Jessamy Carlson, modern records specialist at the National Archives, said: 'File MH 76/184 gives a glimpse into the extraordinary levels of preparation undertaken in advance of the D-Day landings. 'Only six weeks before, penicillin is just reaching our shores in quantities which will allow it to play a major role in improving the outcomes for service personnel wounded in action.' As Allied forces made inroads into Europe, restrictions on the use of penicillin for civilians began to relax, but only in special cases. In July 1944, Ronald Christie, professor of medicine, wrote to Prof Fraser to tell him: 'The War Office approves of American penicillin being used for medical conditions in service patients and for air raid casualties among civilians.' On the home front, demand for the new 'wonder' drug began to increase, according the National Archives. It was decided that penicillin for civilians should only be supplied to larger hospitals where the staff had been properly trained to administer it. Only in 1946 did it become fully available for the general public.
Telegraph
06-06-2025
- Health
- Telegraph
Churchill frustrated he had to buy penicillin from US ahead of D-Day
Sir Winston Churchill was frustrated that he was forced to buy penicillin from the United States ahead of D-Day, official papers have revealed. Production of the 'wonder drug' had struggled to take hold on a large scale in Britain, despite it having been discovered in London by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928. Attempts to produce substantial quantities of medicine from the bacteria-killing mould had not been achieved by the start of the Second World War. Churchill became increasingly frustrated that Britain had not been able to produce enough penicillin during preparations for the Normandy landings in 1944. Official papers released by the National Archive, containing handwritten notes by Sir Winston, highlight efforts to boost quantities of the antibiotic, with Britain eventually forced to import it from America. The documents were released ahead of the 81st anniversary of D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6 1944. In one report on Feb 19 that year, after the problem had been raised in the Commons, Sir Winston scrawled in red ink on a Ministry of Supply report noting the Americans were producing greater quantities: 'I am sorry we can't produce more.' On another paper, he complained: 'Your report on penicillin, showing that we are only to get about one tenth of the expected output this year, is very disappointing.' Elsewhere in the same file he instructs: 'Let me have proposals for a more abundant supply from Great Britain.' With preparations for D-Day ramped up, efforts to deliver enough American-made penicillin for frontline military personnel soon became a matter of urgency. Decisions needed to be made on the quantities of antibiotic imported, how much to administer to individual patients, and how to get medical staff trained in time. Most British doctors did not know how to issue penicillin – until this point, doctors had nothing available to treat infections like pneumonia, and many people died of blood poisoning after minor injuries because no drug existed that could cure them. Early in January 1944, Prof FR Fraser, the Ministry of Health's adviser on the organisation of wartime hospitals, wrote that 50,000-100,000 wounded could be expected from the second front. He suggested that the Emergency Medical Services might need as many as five billion units of penicillin per month for this. Further documents show discussions on whether the antibiotic should be supplied as calcium or sodium salts, or in tablet form. Ultimately, it was agreed that powdered calcium salts would be issued for superficial wounds and sodium salts for use in deeper ones. On May 24 1944, less than a fortnight before D-Day, Prof Fraser reported: 'Sufficient supplies of penicillin are now available for the treatment of battle casualties in EMS hospitals, but not for ordinary civilian patients.' Plans were made for casualties from the frontline in France to be brought back to coastal hospitals in Britain for treatment. On May 30 1944, a week before D-Day, hospitals were instructed to treat battlefield patients en route. The instructions said: 'In an endeavour to prevent the development of gas gangrene and sepsis in wounds, the War Office have arranged for the treatment of selected cases by penicillin to be commenced as soon after injury as possible.' Injections of penicillin were to be given to them at intervals of not more than five hours and patients would be wearing a yellow label with the letters 'PEN'. The time and size of penicillin doses should be written on it, they were told. Dr Jessamy Carlson, a modern records specialist at the National Archives, said: 'File MH 76/184 gives a glimpse into the extraordinary levels of preparation undertaken in advance of the D-Day landings. 'Only six weeks before, penicillin is just reaching our shores in quantities which will allow it to play a major role in improving the outcomes for service personnel wounded in action.' As Allied forces made inroads into Europe, restrictions on the use of penicillin for civilians began to be relaxed – but only in special cases. In July 1944, Ronald Christie, a professor of medicine, wrote to Prof Fraser to tell him: 'The War Office approves of American penicillin being used for medical conditions in service patients and for air raid casualties among civilians.' On the home front, demand for the new wonder drug began to increase, according the National Archives. It was decided that penicillin for civilians should only be supplied to larger hospitals where staff had been properly trained to administer it. It became fully available to the general public in 1946.
The Independent
06-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Penicillin gave D-Day landings an unlikely boost, Churchill papers show
Newly released documents reveal that the D-Day landings were aided by the import of penicillin from America, as Britain struggled to produce sufficient quantities of the antibiotic. Prime Minister Winston Churchill expressed frustration in handwritten notes over Britain's inability to produce enough penicillin for the Normandy landings in 1944, leading to increased reliance on American supplies. Preparations for D-Day included decisions on the quantities of penicillin to import, dosage for patients, and training medical staff, as most British doctors were unfamiliar with its use. By May 24, 1944, sufficient penicillin was available for treating battle casualties in Emergency Medical Services hospitals, but not for ordinary civilian patients. Hospitals were instructed to administer penicillin to battlefield patients en route, with injections given at intervals of no more than five hours, marking treated patients with a yellow 'PEN' label; penicillin became fully available to the general public in 1946.
