Home Intravenous Antibiotic Therapy and Allergic Drug Reactions

This study aimed to estimate the risk of an allergic reaction for patients receiving home intravenous antibiotics, and to identify the potential advantages and disadvantages of providing injectable epinephrine in this patient population. In this study, 770 patients received 1000 courses of home intravenous therapy with 25 different antibiotics for 37 conditions. The patients in the program experienced 28 allergic reactions. The mean time to allergic reaction was 19.6 days. No episodes of anaphylaxis were observed. These results, coupled with the potential disadvantages of issuing epinephrine to all patients receiving home antibiotic therapy, suggest that this strategy may not provide a net benefit.