Beware of incorrectly coding a patient’s penicillin allergy as a penicillamine allergy. This error risks a patient with a known penicillin allergy being administered a penicillin-based antibiotic and having a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction.
‘Penicillin’ describes a group of broad-spectrum penicillin-based antibiotics. Penicillamine is a drug used to treat Wilson’s disease and severe active rheumatoid arthritis.
