British ColumbiaDr. Tiffany Wong, co-lead of a penicillin de-labelling project, has developed a tool for health-care professionals to assess and identify if patients who think they have a penicillin allergy are actually at low risk of having one. Only 1 per cent of the population has a penicillin allergy, but about 10 per cent believe they doMichelle Gomez · CBC News · Posted: Nov 10, 2025 10:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Dr. Tiffany Wong, co-lead of the penicillin de-labelling project, has developed a tool that can be used by general practitioners and other health-care providers to identify people who are at low risk of having a penicillin allergy. (CBC)Most people who are diagnosed with a penicillin allergy don’t actually have one, according to a B.C. allergist. Dr. Tiffany Wong, co-lead of the penicillin de-labelling project, has developed a tool for health-care professionals to assess and identify if patients who think they have a penicillin allergy are actually at low risk of having one. According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, about 10 per cent of people report having an allergy to penicillin — but fewer than one per cent actually have a true allergy. Another study found doctors were able to give penicillin safely to over 80 per cent of people who thought they were allergic.Around 90 per cent of people who believe they have a penicillin allergy don’t have one, according to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control. (Terry Roberts/CBC)Wong says misdiagnosis is common because certain symptoms that are mistaken for a penicillin allergy are often caused by the infection itself. A common scenario Wong sees in her practice is a child getting a rash while using antibiotics —and the rash is attributed to the antibiotics as opposed to the initial infection.“We have years of research and data looking at children and adults … and then we go back and challenge them with the antibiotics, give them a test dose, and over 90 per cent of them can tolerate it,” Wong said. She says this is a problem because penicillin is the most effective medication for many common ailments, including ear infections and pneumonia. Alternative antibiotics are usually less effective, more expensive, and can sometimes lead to serious side effects. “By the time people are sick and need an antibiotic, that’s not a good time to do a test dose,” said Wong. No need to see an allergistWong says the wait to see an allergist in the province can be up to two years. Those who are unsure about a possible penicillin allergy should ask their general practitioner as an assessment can be performed during a doctor’s visit. Assessments can also be done by pharmacists, nurses, and nurse practitioners. “You don’t need to see an allergist in order to be de-labelled because most people aren’t actually allergic,” said Wong. LISTEN | Most people who believe they are allergic to penicillin aren’t, says allergist:Daybreak South6:16A B.C. allergist says 90 per cent of people who believe they are allergic to penicillin actually aren’tB.C. allergist, Dr. Tiffany Wong is working to remove false penicillin allergy diagnosis from people’s health records, because 90 per cent of people who believe they are allergic to the drug – actually aren’t.She has also developed a patient-led assessment tool where people can check if they are at low risk of having a penicillin allergy. The project began 10 years ago, and she says that while there is greater awareness and more health-care professionals participating, there is still a long way to go. “We have finally been able to get the snowball rolling,” said Wong. “Until we can actually practise primary prevention, which is not erroneously diagnosing people with allergy in the first place, it’s going to be a while.” ABOUT THE AUTHORMichelle Gomez is a writer and reporter at CBC Vancouver. You can contact her at michelle.gomez@cbc.ca. With files from Daybreak South
B.C. allergist working to combat false penicillin allergy diagnoses
