Anaphylaxis in the community: a questionnaire survey of members of the UK Anaphylaxis Campaign.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the circumstances, features and management of anaphylaxis in children and adults.

DESIGN

Self-completed questionnaire.

PARTICIPANTS

The age of participants ranged from 0 to 72 years.

SETTING

We analysed data from self-completed questionnaires collected over a 12-year period, i.e. 2001-2013, available to people by phone and, since 2012, for online completion through the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE

We analysed data from self-completed questionnaires collected over a 12- year period, i.e. 2001-2013, available to people by phone and, since 2012, for online completion through the Anaphylaxis Campaign.

RESULTS

In total, 356 questionnaires were submitted, of which 54 did not meet the criteria for anaphylaxis. The remaining 302 anaphylactic reactions originated from 243 individuals; 193 (64%) of these reactions were in children. Approximately half of all reactions occurred at home ( = 148; 49%); 61% ( = 193) of reactions occurred in those reporting a history of asthma, and many ( = 76; 41%) of these individuals had asthma that they classified as being severe. In 57% ( = 173) cases, the respondent reacted to a known allergen. Self-injectable adrenaline (epinephrine) was available in 79% of the cases, and it was only used in 38% of episodes. The usage of self-injected adrenaline was lower in children (30%) than in adults (54%), even though 82% of children had adrenaline available at the time of the reaction compared to 74% of adults.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that the majority of anaphylaxis reactions are triggered by exposure to known food allergens and that approximately half of these reactions occur at home. Access to self-injectable adrenaline was sub-optimal and when available it was only used in a minority of cases. Avoiding triggers, access to self-injectable adrenaline and its prompt use in the context of reactions need to be reinforced.