Few nurses use adrenaline autoinjectors correctly

More than 80% of practice nurses do not use adrenaline autoinjectors correctly, a new study shows. A fifth even try to use the wrong end. Practice nurses also overestimate the risk of fatal anaphylaxis for children with food allergies, which may increase anxiety among patients and carers.

Researchers used questionnaires, clinical scenarios and injecting a mannequin to assess 30 practice nurses, 30 community pharmacists and 30 school first aiders in the UK. Overall, all three groups overestimated the risk of fatal anaphylaxis for children with food allergy (by a mean 13.5-fold). They did not, however, overestimate the risk of non-fatal anaphylaxis or all-cause fatality.