New NICE Guidelines for Anaphylaxis

These new guidelines were released this month  (Dec 2011) by the UK’s National Institute for Clinical Excellence. Their expert panel reviewed all the available evidence on anaphylaxis for adults and children. The main recommendations regarding children are summarised as follows :

1) Children younger than 16 years who have had emergency treatment for suspected anaphylaxis should be admitted to hospital under the care of a paediatric medical team.

 2) After emergency treatment for suspected anaphylaxis, parents of children should be offered a referral to a specialist allergy service consisting of healthcare professionals with the skills and competencies necessary to accurately investigate, diagnose, monitor and provide ongoing management of, and patient education about, suspected anaphylaxis.

3) After emergency treatment for suspected anaphylaxis, individuals should be offered (or, as appropriate, their parent and/or carer) an appropriate adrenaline injector as an interim measure before the specialist allergy service appointment. Guidelines are available at http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG134/Guidance/pdf/English