Question

Our hospital uses a dosage of 0.1ml for the cefotiam skin test, with a high positivity rate; the instruction manual suggests using 0.02ml, and we are consulting our pharmacy department for clinical diagnosis. Is there any basis for such a small skin test dosage, besides, it’s also not easy to observe carefully. Please discuss this with me….

Answer

“The value of using cephalosporin skin tests to predict drug allergies after administration is not significant, as you mentioned, there are more false positives. However, if some cephalosporin product manuals specify ‘perform a skin test before use,’ then it is necessary to use the cephalosporin to be administered for the skin test, with a concentration of 300ug/ml. For cefotiam, you can follow the specifications in the drug’s instructions. If the instructions specify ‘perform a skin test before use’ or if the patient has a history of allergy to penicillin (or cephalosporins), then it is definitely necessary to conduct a strict skin test.”