Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is one of the first academic medical centers established in the United States, known for innovations in health care and research. The Drug Allergy and Program at MGH, run by Dr. Aleena Banerji, examines patients’ drug allergies to first-line, and often life-saving, medications, ranging from antibiotics to chemotherapeutics. Patients are evaluated by trained allergy experts to ensure they can safely receive their indicated therapies with limited possibility of adverse reactions. The MGH Drug Allergy Program evaluates and enrolls patients in two locations (Boston and Waltham, MA).
Kimberly Blumenthal, MD, MSc (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Blumenthal is an allergist/immunologist and nationally-recognized drug allergy researcher at MGH and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She is also the Co-Director of the Division of Rheumatology, Allergy and Immunology’s Clinical Epidemiology Program and faculty in the Medical Practice Evaluation Center and MGH Mongan Institute. Dr. Blumenthal performs drug allergy research using methods of epidemiology, informatics, economics, and decision science and has more than 140 peer-reviewed publications to date.
- Blumenthal KG, Peter JG, Trubiano JA, Phillips EJ. Antibiotic Allergy. Lancet. 2019; 393(10167):183-198.
- Chiriac AM, Banerji A, Gruchalla RS, Thong BYH, Wickner P, Mertes PM, Terreehorst I, Blumenthal KG. Controversies in Drug Allergy: Drug Allergy Pathways. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2019;7(1):46-60.e4
- Blumenthal KG, Lu N, Zhang Y, Li Y, Walensky RP, Choi HK. Risk of Meticillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile in Patients with a Documented Penicillin Allergy: Population Based Matched Cohort Study. BMJ. 2018;361:k2400.
- Blumenthal KG, Li Y, Acker WW, Chang Y, Banerji A, Ghaznavi S, Camargo CA Jr, Zhou L. Multiple Drug Intolerance Syndrome and Multiple Drug Allergy Syndrome: Epidemiology and Associations with Anxiety and Depression. Allergy. 2018;73(10):2012-2023.
- Blumenthal KG, Wickner PG, Lau JJ, Zhou L. Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of Patients in an Integrated Allergy Repository of a Large Health Care System. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2015;3(2):277-280.e1.
- Blumenthal KG, Li Y, Banerji A, Yun BJ, Long AA, Walensky RP. The Cost of Penicillin Allergy Evaluation. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2018;6(3):1019-1027.e2.
- Blumenthal KG, Shenoy ES, Wolfson AR, Berkowitz DN, Carballo VA, Balekian DS, Marquis KA, Elshaboury R, Gandhi RG, Meka P, Kubiak DW, Catella J, Lambl BB, Hsu JT, Freeley MM, Gruszecki A, Wickner PG. Addressing Inpatient Beta-Lactam Allergies: A Multihospital Implementation. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2017;5(3):616-625.e7.
Aleena Banerji, MD
Dr. Banerji is a nationally-recognized drug allergy and angioedema expert. She has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and serves as the Director of the Drug Allergy Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.
- Blumenthal KG, Shenoy ES, Hurwitz S, Varughese CA, Hooper DC, Banerji A. Effect of a Drug Allergy Educational Program and Antibiotic Prescribing Guideline on Inpatient Clinical Providers’ Antibiotic Prescribing Knowledge. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2014;2(4):407-13.
- Guyer AC, Saff R, Conroy M, Blumenthal KG, Camargo CA, Long AA, Banerji A. Comprehensive Allergy Evaluation Is Useful in the Subsequent Care of Patients with Drug Hypersensitivity Reactions During Anesthesia. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2015;3(1):94-100.
- Wang AL, Patil SU, Long AA, Banerji A. Risk-Stratification Protocol for Carboplatin and Oxaliplatin Hypersensitivity: Repeat Skin Testing to Identify Drug Allergy. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 2015;115(5):422-428.
- Wheatley LM, Plaut M, Schwaninger JM, Banerji A, Castells M, Finkelman FD, Gleich GJ, Guttman-Yassky E, Mallal SA, Naisbitt DJ, Ostrov DA, Phillips EJ, Pichler WJ, Platts-Mills TA, Roujeau JC, Schwartz LB, Trepanier LA. Report from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Workshop on Drug Allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015;136(2):262-271.
- Blumenthal KG, Huebner EM, Fu X, Li Y, Bhattacharya G, Levin AS, Mancini CM, Slawski BR, Banerji A. Risk-Based Pathway for Outpatient Penicillin Allergy Evaluations. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2019;7(7):2411-2414.1.
- Levin AS, Bhattacharya G, Blumenthal K, Camargo CA Jr, Banerji A. Platin Chemotherapy Hypersensitivity Reactions: Expanding the Scope of Practice and Improving Care. J Clin Allergy Immunol Pract. 2019;7(5):1691-1695.
- Lax T, Long A, Banerji A. Skin Testing in the Evaluation and Management of Carboplatin-Related Hypersensitivity Reactions. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2015;3(6):856-62.
- Banerji A, Lax T, Guyer A, Hurwitz S, Camargo CA Jr, Long AA. Management of Hypersensitivity Reactions to Carboplatin and Paclitaxel in an Outpatient Oncology Infusion Center: A 5-Year Review. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2014;2:428-33.