%0 Journal Article
%T What factors affect the carriage of epinephrine auto-injectors by teenagers?
%A Clare Macadam
%A Julie Barnett
%A Graham Roberts
%A Gary Stiefel
%A Rosemary King
%A Michel Erlewyn-Lajeunesse
%A Judith A Holloway
%A Jane S Lucas
%J Clinical and Translational Allergy
%D 2012
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/2045-7022-2-3
%X Patients aged 12-18 years old under a specialist allergy clinic, who had previously been prescribed an auto-injector were invited to participate. Semi-structured interviews explored the factors that positively or negatively impacted on carriage.Twenty teenagers with food or venom allergies were interviewed. Only two patients had used their auto-injector in the community, although several had been treated for severe reactions in hospital. Most teenagers made complex risk assessments to determine whether to carry the auto-injector. Most but not all decisions were rational and were at least partially informed by knowledge. Factors affecting carriage included location, who else would be present, the attitudes of others and physical features of the auto-injector. Teenagers made frequent risk assessments when deciding whether to carry their auto-injectors, and generally wanted to remain safe. Their decisions were complex, multi-faceted and highly individualised.Rather than aiming for 100% carriage of auto-injectors, which remains an ambitious ideal, personalised education packages should aim to empower teenagers to make and act upon informed risk assessments.Food allergy is common [1], affecting 2.3% of 11 to 15 year olds [2], and evidence suggests that the number of severe food allergic reactions is increasing [3]. In the UK there were 48 deaths from food allergy between 1999 and 2006 [4] with peanut and tree nut allergy accounting for the majority of deaths. Although a previous history of anaphylaxis, asthma and peanut allergy have been identified as risk factors for anaphylaxis, there is no reliable way of predicting who will have a life-threatening reaction. Teenagers are at particular risk with the peak incidence of deaths from anaphylaxis associated with peanut and tree nut allergy occurring in the 15 to 24 age group [4]. First line treatment of anaphylaxis in the community is intramuscular injection of epinephrine (adrenaline) in the thigh [5] via an auto-injector
%K Food allergy
%K adolescent
%K adherence
%K anaphylaxis
%K auto-injector
%K patient education
%U http://www.ctajournal.com/content/2/1/3