Desensitization
30 patients with histories of allergic reactions to PCN, positive skin tests, and life threatening infections (bacterial endocarditis, Pseudomonas sepsis or pneumonia) were desensitized. Skin test reactions disappeared or diminished in all 23 subjects who were retested after desensitization. Full courses of antibiotic therapy and cure of the infections were accomplished in 30 of 30 patients.No deaths, anaphylaxis, or severe acute allergic reactions occurred. Pruritic cutaneous eruptions appeared in 9 patients (30%) 6 to 48 hrs after the onset of therapy. One patient developed reversible nephritis 3 weeks into therapy with PCN G.