Erythromycin Versus Azithromycin: Which is the Fittest Substitute for Penicillin in Allergic Patients?

1. Abstract
1.1. Background: Since the introduction of penicillin in the early 20th century, limitations to its use such as allergy began to demand alternatives, since it can produce death threatening adverse reactions. Plus, the difficulty and cost to establish patient’s allergic profile and discrepancy between test results and medical history adds to this problem. In order to find a perfect substitute for penicillin, many articles have reported the successful use of drugs of the macrolide class in treating infections for which penicillin would normally be indicated as first line, but cannot be used due to allergy.