Anaphylaxis Awareness and Adrenaline Use Among Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

Objective: Anaphylaxis is life-threatening and guidelines recommend adrenaline as a first-line treatment. However, previous studies have shown significant shortcomings in the appropriate management of anaphylaxis. Our study aimed to measure healthcare professionals’ current knowledge and experience with anaphylaxis and to raise awareness of anaphylaxis management and adrenaline use practices.

Methods: The study included healthcare professionals working at Kayseri City Training and Research Hospital. A 19-question multiple-choice written questionnaire was performed face-to-face by an allergist. Inclusion criteria for the study were healthcare professionals (physician, nurse, paramedic) working in an inpatient or emergency department.

Results: In the study of 260 participants, only 15% preferred “Inject adrenaline 0.5 mg (adult) or 0.3 mg (child) intramuscularly” as the correct first line step in the treatment algorithm and only 5% knew the correct sequence, and 88% had never used an adrenaline auto-injector. When comparing professions, physicians were found to have more accurate answers than nurses and paramedics for questions about diagnostic criteria, symptom recognition (p=0.007), the correct dose of adrenaline (p=0.001), and the correct route of administration (p=0.001). Both physicians and nurses preferred adrenaline as the first treatment drug (79.67%, n=192), followed by pheniramine (14.94%, n=36) and glucocorticoids (4.56%, n=11). Furthermore, 69.8% (n=167) of participants correctly answered the question about the adult adrenaline dose.

Conclusion: Healthcare personnel, including physicians, lack sufficient knowledge of anaphylaxis diagnosis and treatment. Since anaphylaxis is a condition requiring urgent intervention and can be fatal if left untreated, the knowledge and skills of all personnel should be improved to minimize the risk of delayed treatment and serious complications.