Safer antibiotic choices for people with blood cancers and reported penicillin/beta‑lactam allergy
Official title: Optimizing antibiotic selection in hematologic malignancy patients with reported beta-lactam allergy
Funded at University of Pennsylvania · NIH-11261247 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project helps people with blood cancers who report a penicillin or related antibiotic allergy learn whether they can safely use those drugs so they can get the most effective antibiotics.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $489,499 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HS029879-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11261247 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with hematologic malignancies who are hospitalized and report a penicillin or other beta‑lactam allergy.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without a reported beta‑lactam allergy or those with a clear, recent life‑threatening anaphylactic reaction to beta‑lactams may not be eligible or benefit.
What this research studies
If you have a blood cancer and are labeled as allergic to penicillin or other beta‑lactam antibiotics, this work will offer careful allergy evaluation including a detailed history, skin testing, and supervised oral challenge when appropriate. The goal is to remove incorrect allergy labels so you can receive preferred beta‑lactam antibiotics for infections. The team will follow participants' antibiotic choices, hospital length of stay, adverse events, and short‑term outcomes to see if delabeling improves care. Procedures are performed in a controlled clinical setting by allergy and infectious disease specialists.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, more patients could safely use first‑line beta‑lactam antibiotics, which may reduce infection complications, decrease use of broader or more toxic drugs, and shorten hospital stays.
How similar studies have gone: Previous delabeling programs in general hospitalized patients have safely removed beta‑lactam allergy labels in 85–95% of cases and improved antibiotic selection, though this approach has been less studied specifically in people with blood cancers.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lautenbach, Ebbing — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Lautenbach, Ebbing
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.