Anaphylaxis: Hospital Doctors' Knowledge of Management Guidelines

Intramuscular epinephrine injection is the life saving drug of choice in the acute management of severe anaphylactic shock and its use is recommended in guidelines. However, doctors’ knowledge regarding the dose and route of administration of epinephrine for anaphylaxis management is deficient. We conducted a short descriptive survey regarding the hospital doctors’ knowledge of anaphylaxis management guidelines. 45.6% (n=72) of hospital doctors would not choose the recommended route of administration for epinephrine, 67.7% (n=107) of hospital doctors did either not know the dosage to use or choose an incorrect dose of epinephrine. Only only 18.3% (n = 29) of hospital doctors would administer adrenaline/epinephrine as recommended by the guidelines from WAO position paper. Hospital doctors’ knowledge regarding adrenaline administration for anaphylaxis seems deficient. It is urgently needed to pay attention to this serious issue. Perhaps more frequent resuscitation training is required. We believe that constant education of anaphylaxis management will lead to improved standards of patient care.