WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- In too many cases, hospital emergency departments are falling short in following recommended treatment guidelines for patients with severe allergic reactions to insect stings, a new study finds.
Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston reviewed the medical records of 617 patients treated for insect stings at 15 North American hospital emergency departments (EDs). Of those 617 patients, 58 percent had local reactions, 11 percent had mild systemic reactions, and 31 percent had a sudden, severe potentially life-threatening allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).
The study found that just 12 percent of the patients with mild or severe allergic reactions received epinephrine, the recommended treatment for severe reactions to insect stings. Sixty-nine percent of the patients received antihistamines, and 50 percent received systemic corticosteroids.
Only 31 percent of the patients who suffered mild or severe allergic reactions received a prescription for self-injectable epinephrine and only 21 percent were referred to an allergist/immunologist for further evaluation and management of their insect sting allergies, the researchers found.
"Because the ED is the most common medical setting for diagnosing and treating anaphylaxis, advances in anaphylaxis management will need the active participation of emergency medicine clinicians and researchers," study co-author and emergency physician Dr. Carlos Camargo said in a prepared statement.
The findings appear in the September issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
More information
The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology has more about insect stings.
