RCHT team helps deliver world’s largest penicillin allergy study
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) has played an important role in the world’s largest study into penicillin allergy. The international project, led by researchers in Melbourne, Australia, involved more than 5,000 patients across 40 hospitals in eight countries and has shown that most people who believe they are allergic to penicillin are not actually allergic.
Penicillin allergy is recorded in about one in ten hospital patients, but the study found that 95% of people with a low‑risk history can safely take penicillin after a simple test. Correcting these records means patients can receive faster and more effective treatment.
To support this work, the research team developed a smartphone assessment tool that helps doctors and nurses quickly identify which patients can be safely tested. This approach can be used in hospitals worldwide, even where specialist allergy services are limited.
Alongside the global study, RCHT has also been running its own outpatient penicillin allergy de‑labelling (PADL) clinic. The clinic is run by specially trained nurses and overseen by an antimicrobial pharmacist.
Between December 2024 and September 2025, the clinic received 404 referrals and successfully contacted 326 people. Just over half were assessed as low risk. A total of 115 patients attended for a supervised test dose, and 110 were found not to be allergic. Only five patients kept their allergy label after experiencing side effects.
These results show that a nurse‑led clinic can safely and effectively remove incorrect penicillin allergy labels, helping to ensure patients receive the best and most appropriate antibiotics.
Incorrect penicillin allergy records can lead to the use of alternative antibiotics that may be less effective. Removing incorrect labels supports safer prescribing, improves treatment outcomes, and reduces delays to care.
RCHT Consultant Pharmacist Neil Powell, who led the UK involvement in this work, continues to contribute to international research in this area. He has helped write European guidelines on penicillin allergy testing and is a co‑applicant on a major new National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded study beginning this spring.
Neil Powell said: “It’s fantastic to see how many patients can safely have their penicillin allergy label removed with a simple test. Being involved in a global study led by expert colleagues in Melbourne has helped us bring these improvements to Cornwall. Most importantly, it means patients can receive the right antibiotics sooner, which makes a real difference to their care.”
Neil Powell said: “It’s fantastic to see how many patients can safely have their penicillin allergy label removed with a simple test. Being involved in a global study led by expert colleagues in Melbourne has helped us bring these improvements to Cornwall. Most importantly, it means patients can receive the right antibiotics sooner, which makes a real difference to their care.”
This important work places Cornwall at the forefront of improvements in penicillin allergy testing. By helping patients quickly and safely find out whether they are truly allergic, clinicians can prescribe the most effective treatment sooner.