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The Allergy and Asthma Clinic
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AnnouncementsPlease welcome a new physician to our team!
Dr. Zhang grew up in Seattle and received her MD degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. She completed her pediatrics residency at Children's Hospital of Oakland in 2006 and her allergy and immunology fellowship at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania in 2008. She started her career in private practice with Allergy, Asthma & Immunology Associates in Dallas, Texas where she also was a clinical instructor of Allergy/Immunology at the Children's Medical Center of Dallas, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She loves children and has extensive training in asthma, food allergy, eczema and other allergic conditions . Dr. Zhang is Board Certified both in Pediatrics and Allergy & Immunology. She also is a member of American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Dr. Zhang is excited to be a part of our group and to contribute to the health and well-being of our patients. She plans to spend the remainder of her career in the Bay Area working closely with Dr. Engler as well as being nearer to her family and friends. Dr. Zhang enjoys cooking, painting, traveling and spending time with family and friends. She is also proficient in Chinese (Mandarin). We are currently making appointments for Dr. Zhang; please let us know if you would like an opportunity to meet with her so that she can help you with your allergies and asthma. With Dr. Zhang's expertise, we are able to expand the scope of our practice and offer new technology and procedures in our office We now have Penicillin allergy testing available at our clinic.It is estimated that penicillin allergy is greatly overstated and a lot more people think they are allergic to penicillin than really are. Approximately 85% of patients who describe themselves as penicillin allergic will have negative skin tests and can safely receive penicillin. PrePen is the only FDA approved skin test for the diagnosis of penicillin allergy and we are excited to offer this service to our patients. Penicillin allergy testing not only benefits patients, but also physicians and other health care providers, as well as surrounding communities. These benefits include fighting resistant bacteria and offering less expensive treatments for patients. As many of you know, drug-resistant bacteria pose a major public health threat in today’s world. Many patients thought to be allergic to penicillin are treated with very potent antibiotics which are often quite expensive. Continued use of these antibiotics may lead to increased drug-resistant bacteria, limited availability of alternative treatment for more severe infections, and greater side effect profiles. How does one undergo Penicillin allergy testing?After obtaining your medical history, you and your healthcare provider will decide if you are a candidate to undergo this evaluation. Penicillin allergy testing is performed via skin tests and if the skin tests are essentially negative, an “oral challenge” to penicillin is performed. Negative test results using PrePen indicate a 97% confidence that the patient can be treated without the fear of a life threatening reaction if they are to take an antibiotic in the penicillin family. It is important to note that penicillin allergy testing may be contraindicated in those patients who have had a systemic reaction to penicillin. However, many patients with a history of penicillin allergy had a rash many years ago or were told when they were younger that they were allergic to penicillin but do not remember the details. Most of the time, these people are good candidates for penicillin allergy testing and will be found not to be allergic to this antibiotic—thus making treatment of future infections much safer and less expensive. If you or someone you know would like to consider undergoing an allergy evaluation to penicillin, please contact our office and our staff will be happy to assist you. >> Meet Dr. Andrew Engler
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We are very proud to introduce our new associate physician, Dr. June Zhang, who joined our group on September 1, 2011.
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