Helping Patients Determine Whether They Have a True Drug Allergy
Our Pediatric Antibiotic Allergy Testing Program is committed to helping every child receive the safest and most effective care possible by helping children and teens find out whether they truly have an allergy to medications—most commonly antibiotics such as penicillin.
Penicillin allergy is reported by 32 million Americans. However, more than 95% of them are not actually allergic. When a patient has an unverified penicillin allergy label, it can result in longer illness, more side effects, higher costs, longer hospital stays and post-surgical site infection.
If you’ve been told your child may have a medication allergy, simple allergy testing can show if they are truly allergic.
Our Objectives
- Diagnose: Accurately identify reason for reactions through advanced testing and clinical expertise
- De-Label: Remove incorrect “allergy” labels to restore access to ideal medications
- Desensitization: Safely reintroduce essential drugs when needed (confirmed reactions)
- Discovery: Uncover new mechanisms for adverse drug reactions
Learn more about why your child most likely does not have a penicillin allergy.
Why Choose Us
Families come to us for our expertise, our compassion, and our dedication to helping children stay healthy now and in the future. We offer:
- In-person and telehealth options, making access to care as convenient as possible
- Partnership with referring providers, including e-consults, which allow us to provide guidance virtually
- Nationally recognized expertise in pediatric drug allergy care
- Specialized testing performed in a safe, child-friendly environment
- Immediate access to pediatric emergency support and multidisciplinary teams
- Commitment to responsible antibiotic use
Treatments and Services
We provide complete, personalized evaluations for suspected medication allergies, always placing safety and comfort first.
Our services include:
- In-depth review of your child’s medical history
- Risk assessment to guide the safest testing plan
- Skin testing for certain medications, including IV and peri-op medications
- Supervised oral antibiotic challenges
- Evaluation of delayed reactions, such as rashes
- Consultation for complex cases
- Communication of results with your child’s care team
When testing shows that an allergy is unlikely, we update your child’s medical record so future care teams can confidently choose the best antibiotic when needed.
What to Expect
Learn what to expect before, during and after your visit with the Pediatric Antibiotic Testing Service.
Before Your Appointment
Scheduling Your Appointment
We want it to be easy for you to get care from our program. You can contact us directly to schedule an appointment, or your doctor can send us a referral (a referral is not required). After reaching out, we will let you know whether you can be seen virtually or in person. While in-person appointments for medication challenges remain the most common approach, virtual options expand access to testing, allowing families, patients and providers to explore settings that best suit their needs.
Preparing for Your Visit
To help us prepare for your visit, we may ask you to:
- Complete a questionnaire about your child’s past reactions
- Share medication records and pictures from prior care related to antibiotic use
- Pause antihistamines for allergy testing (we’ll give you clear instructions)
- Bring a list of current medications
Our team will review everything ahead of time and design the safest approach for your child.
During Your Appointment
Our testing is simple and safe and should be offered to all children who are labeled as having an antibiotic allergy as well as other medication allergies. We offer a variety of care options to best meet your needs.
- Outpatient Testing: New patients coming to our outpatient clinic will have testing done the same day in most cases. For example, patients with concern for penicillin allergy will take a dose of amoxicillin at the beginning of the appointment, and our allergy staff will observe them for an hour to ensure there is no reaction. Rarely, staff may perform a skin test prior to administration. Allergic symptoms during or after the challenge are infrequent (about 5% of children) and are generally mild. Children may be seen when sick with an illness, receiving their first dose of a preferred antibiotic in our office, or at a scheduled time when they are healthy. Throughout the visit, your child will be closely monitored by pediatric experts, with emergency care available immediately if needed.
- E-Visits: E-Visits provide a convenient way to follow up after an extended challenge, home challenge or other virtual interactions—without the need for an in-person or telehealth appointment. Parents and caregivers can connect with us for follow-up questions and guidance through MyChart.
- Testing for IV Medications: We offer a specialized clinic on the second Tuesday of every month at our Liberty location to test for allergies to IV medications such as Ceftriaxone and Vancomycin. Each appointment lasts about three hours and is designed to safely assess potential IV medication allergies without requiring hospital admission.
- Inpatient Consultations: Children labeled with antibiotic allergies who are admitted to the hospital may be offered allergy testing or recommended to trial penicillin during hospitalization if it is the preferred antibiotic. Patients may also be referred for outpatient testing at a later date.
- Penicillin Allergy Decision & Mobile Empowerment (PADME) tool: To begin looking into your child’s unverified penicillin allergy label, you can use the new PADME virtual risk assessment tool, which was developed by doctors at Cincinnati Children’s and the University of North Carolina. It can be particularly useful when access to allergy specialists is limited. Once you complete the simple online assessment, you will receive a personalized risk certificate to share with your child’s primary care and allergy doctors. You will then be guided through the next steps necessary for removing or testing a penicillin allergy label.
- E-Consults (For Physicians): E-Consults allow providers to digitally submit consultation requests to the Pediatric Antibiotic Allergy Test Service (PATS) team. PATS providers review the patient’s medical history, offer expert recommendations and next steps, and may provide reassurance in removing allergy labels to support safe reintroduction of medications.
After Your Appointment
When testing is complete, we will:
- Explain results in clear, simple terms
- Update your child’s medical record
- Provide written guidance for future antibiotic use
- Share findings with your child’s primary care provider and specialists
- Provide wrap-around support and 24/7 contact information so the family can reach us with any questions or concerns
Our goal is to give families clarity, confidence, and peace of mind—so children can get the right medicine, at the right time, as safely as possible.
