Working together to change the lives of children and young people with anaphylaxis

Anaphylaxis is a potentially life-threatening condition which carries a high morbidity and mortality, with around 20 deaths from it reported each year in the UK.

Recent high-profile cases such as that of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse serve as just one of several examples illustrating the devastating impact of this condition in children and young people.

Extensive data collection via regional audit research around the standards of clinical care of paediatric patients with Anaphylaxis in recent years has identified many areas for improvement that could directly benefit these patients in the North East.

What is Anaphylaxis?

Anaphylaxis is a serious, potentially life-threatening generalised or systemic allergic reaction. It’s progression is usually rapid in nature.

Severe anaphylaxis is characterised by potentially life-threatening compromise in a patient’s airway, breathing and/or circulation and may occur without typical skin features or angioedema being present.

Around 40% of the UK population is thought to suffer from at least one allergy¹, but most people fortunately only have mild symptoms such as an itchy rash. A small proportion develop anaphylaxis, which requires prompt treatment with adrenaline. In the UK, the number of people admitted to hospital with anaphylaxis has increased from 1 to 7 per 100,000 Population between 1992 and 2012 (NICE, 2016), resulting in an estimated 20 deaths every year².

In children, anaphylaxis is usually triggered by food, and the most common causes are allergens such as peanuts, tree nuts, cow’s milk, egg, fish, shellfish, sesame and fruits like kiwi^3,5,6. In the UK the most common food trigger causing death from anaphylaxis is milk, followed by peanut and tree nuts⁶. Other causes of anaphylaxis include prescribed medication such as penicillin, bee or wasp stings, latex and blood products used in transfusions, but sometimes in “idiopathic anaphylaxis” no cause is identified^5,6.