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Self-reported penicillin allergy is highly prevalent. Different studies estimate that 10% of the population is labeled as such. This label, confirmed or suspected, forces us to take precautions and replace the antibiotic treatment of choice (frequently beta-lactams) with other 2nd or 3rd choice alternatives with worse overall results: side effects, resistance, costs, etc. The penicillin allergy label, once placed, remains in the medical record. It is only confirmed in less than 5% of patients, either because it has been placed inappropriately or because over time the sensitivity decreases and may disappear. Penicillin Allergy Decision Rule -PEN-FAST- is a validated and simple clinical prediction rule that estimates the risk of presenting an allergic reaction. Its use, together with algorithms that involve primary care in the study and delabeling of low-risk patients, can change our clinical practice., (Copyright © 2024 Sociedad Española de Médicos de Atención Primaria (SEMERGEN). Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The increase in penicillin susceptibility among Staphylococcus aureus (SA-Pen S ) might have therapeutic relevance. We aimed to study the current situation in our environment., Material and Methods: Over a 2.5 years period, all SA isolates from bacteraemia in one hospital were analysed. For all isolates, antimicrobial susceptibility profile, beta-lactam resistance genes (blaZ, mecA) and Panton-Valentine leucocidine encoding-genes were studied. For SA-Pen S -blaZ negative isolates, spa-type, MLST and the presence of other resistance genes were studied., Results: Among 84 patients with SA bacteraemia (35.7% MRSA and 64.3% MSSA), 77 were analysed; 22.2% of MSSA isolates were Pen S and blaZ negative (Pen-MIC≤0.03μg/ml) corresponding to 14.3% of the total SA. In MSSA-Pen S -blaZ negative isolates, eight spa-types and 7 clonal-complexes were detected., Conclusion: A high prevalence of MRSA/SA and MSSA-Pen S -blaZ negative /MSSA was detected in blood cultures. Pen-MIC≤0,3μg/ml corresponded to MSSA-Pen S -blaZ negative . This situation raises therapeutic options which should be further evaluated in larger studies and clinical trials., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is treated with penicillin in some northern European countries., Objectives: To evaluate whether high-dose penicillin V is as effective as high-dose amoxicillin for the treatment of non-severe CAP., Design: Multicentre, parallel, double-blind, controlled, randomized clinical trial., Setting: 31 primary care centers in Spain., Participants: Patients from 18 to 75 years of age with no significant associated comorbidity and with symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection and radiological confirmation of CAP were randomized to receive either penicillin V 1.6 million units, or amoxicillin 1000mg three times per day for 10 days., Main Measurements: The main outcome was clinical cure at 14 days, and the primary hypothesis was that penicillin V would be non-inferior to amoxicillin with regard to this outcome, with a margin of 15% for the difference in proportions. EudraCT register 2012-003511-63., Results: A total of 43 subjects (amoxicillin: 28; penicillin: 15) were randomized. Clinical cure was observed in 10 (90.9%) patients assigned to penicillin and in 25 (100%) patients assigned to amoxicillin with a difference of -9.1% (95% CI, -41.3% to 6.4%; p=.951) for non-inferiority. In the intention-to-treat analysis, amoxicillin was found to be 28.6% superior to penicillin (95% CI, 7.3-58.1%; p=.009 for superiority). The number of adverse events was similar in both groups., Conclusions: There was a trend favoring high-dose amoxicillin versus high-dose penicillin in adults with uncomplicated CAP. The main limitation of this trial was the low statistical power due to the low number of patients included., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Group A (GAS), B (GBS), C (GCS) and G (GGS) β-hemolytic streptococci are important human pathogens. They cause infections of different severity and frequency. Nowadays, after 70 years of use, penicillin is still universally active against GAS, GCS and GGS. However, therapeutic failures have been recorded in 2-28% of pharyngitis cases (median: 12%) attributable to different causes. By contrast, some GBS with reduced susceptibility to penicillin have been described, especially in Japan. In this group of bacteria, it is important to highlight that confirmation by reference methods is mandatory when decreased susceptibility to penicillin is suspected as well as checked for the detection of the mechanisms involved., (Copyright © 2017 Asociación Argentina de Microbiología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

The suspected allergy to beta-lactam antibiotics, especially penicillin and amoxicillin, is the most frequent reason for consultation in Child Allergy Units. In this consensus document, the clinical and diagnostic criteria of allergic reactions are described, as well as alternative antibiotic treatment for the most common infections diagnosed in paediatrics for patients with known or suspected allergy., (Copyright © 2016 Asociación Española de Pediatría. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Background: Abdominal wall Actinomycosis is a rare disease associated with the use of intrauterine device and as a complication of abdominal surgery. Diagnosis is difficult because it is unusual and behaves like a malignant neoplasm., Aim: A case report is presented of a patient who had used an intrauterine device for four years and developed a stony tumour in the abdominal wall associated with a set of symptoms that, clinically and radiologically, was simulating a peritoneal carcinomatosis associated with paraneoplastic syndrome, even in the course of an exploratory laparotomy., Clinical Case: The patient attended our hospital with a two-month history of abdominal pain and symptoms that mimic a paraneoplastic syndrome. The diagnosis of abdominal actinomycosis was suspected by the finding of the microorganism in cervical cytology together with other cultures and Actinomyces negative in pathological studies, confirming the suspicion of a complete cure with empirical treatment with penicillin., Conclusions: Actinomycosis should be considered in patients with pelvic mass or abdominal wall mass that mimics a malignancy. Antibiotic therapy is the first treatment choice and makes a more invasive surgical management unnecessary., (Copyright © 2015 Academia Mexicana de Cirugía A.C. Published by Masson Doyma México S.A. All rights reserved.)