TOPLINE:

Nearly half of the adolescents and adults who developed rashes from penicillin during an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection showed evidence of persistent drug hypersensitivity.

METHODOLOGY:

Patients with EBV infection sometimes receive antibiotics because the viral infection can mimic bacterial ones. A characteristic maculopapular rash — often considered self-limiting — can develop in this circumstance.

Researchers analyzed data from 15 patients who developed a rash after taking penicillin during an EBV infection and later underwent drug allergy testing between 2012 and 2023 (median age at the time of the EBV-related rash, 18.5 years; 86.7% women).

Drug allergy skin tests included intradermal tests with readings at 48 hours and patch tests with readings at 48 and 72 hours. Th

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