Community healthcare professionals overestimate the risk of fatal anaphylaxis for food allergic children

Abstract

In conclusion, we have found evidence that community pharmacists, school first aiders and primary care nurses in the UK systematically overestimate the risk of fatal anaphylaxis for a food allergic child. This overestimation may result in increased patient and carer anxiety. Community practitioners who manage childhood food allergy and anaphylaxis need to be educated about the level of risk for fatal anaphylaxis in such children.

A brief psychological intervention for mothers of children with food allergy can change risk perception and reduce anxiety: Outcomes of a randomized controlled trial

“…Previous studies have suggested that children with food allergy and their mothers suffer increased anxiety and stress compared with other groups . We recently found that community healthcare professionals significantly overestimate the risk of fatal anaphylaxis for children with food allergy, which may contribute to feelings of anxiety . Allergic comorbidities such as asthma are often present in those with food allergy, and these can also be associated with anxiety in affected children and their caregivers .…”

“…[4][5][6] We recently found that community healthcare professionals significantly overestimate the risk of fatal anaphylaxis for children with food allergy, which may contribute to feelings of anxiety. 7 Allergic comorbidities such as asthma are often present in those with food allergy, and these can also be associated with anxiety in affected children and their caregivers. 8,9 While oral and epicutaneous immunotherapy show promise as treatments to reduce immunologic sensitivity in people with food allergy, there is a need for treatments which effectively address the psychological and emotional burden of the disease.…”

Identifying and managing patients at risk of severe allergic reactions to food: Report from two iFAAM workshops

“…Individuals experiencing severe allergic reactions to food make up an important subgroup, and they experience considerable morbidity, and while fatal reactions are rare, they are also unpredictable. 72,73 Within the iFAAM project, a Food Allergy Severity Score (FASS) has been developed and validated. This has the potential to accurately describe previous allergic reactions at both a simple and more complex level.…”

Developments in the field of allergy in 2016 through the eyes of Clinical and Experimental Allergy

“…They reported an apparent increase in fatal anaphylaxis rates, in contrast to recent UK and US findings—and highlighted upright posture as being associated with such cases, and a number of other risk factors specific to each trigger—for example most fatal food anaphylaxis occurred between the ages of 17 and 45 years. Although this journal has previously reported a low risk of fatal anaphylaxis for people with food allergy, Hanna et al showed community healthcare professionals overestimate this risk by approximately 1 log. This may have implications for the way we discuss risk with patients affected by food allergy.…”