Physicians' knowledge and practice concerning diagnosis and management of anaphylaxis: The situation in Egypt

INTRODUCTION: Early recognition of an anaphylaxis event is crucial for instituting lifesaving management. We sought to explore knowledge and practice towards anaphylaxis in a sample of physicians from ten Egyptian governorates. METHODS: An eighteen question-based questionnaire was developed by expert allergists to evaluate the knowledge and practice towards anaphylaxis, based on the World Allergy Organization guidelines for the assessment and management of anaphylaxis. The questionnaires were distributed, and the answered forms collected via emails, and data were tabulated, and analysed. RESULTS: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 242 physicians completed the survey (183 (75.6%) paediatricians, 32 (13.2%) internists, 22 (9.1%) intensivists and five (2.1%) anaesthetists). Only 91 participants (37.6%) identified all the four proposed anaphylaxis clinical scenarios while 70, 45 and 36 identified three, two and one scenario, respectively. Loss of consciousness and abdominal symptoms were not recognised as possible presentations of anaphylaxis by 64.5% and 80.2% of the participants, respectively. Epinephrine was considered the first line treatment by 98 (40.5%), corticosteroids by 77 (31.8%) and antihistamines by 25 (10.3%). 75 (31%) responders identified the right dose of epinephrine while 119 (49.2%) identified the proper route. Concerning practice, 83 physicians (39.2%) used epinephrine for all cases of anaphylaxis, 88 (41.5%) used it for refractory cases only whereas 41 (19.3%) did not use epinephrine at all. DISCUSSION: Our survey shows that the knowledge of Egyptian physicians and their practice towards anaphylaxis are still inadequate. The current situation reinforces the need to disseminate and encourage the adoption of the international guidelines for anaphylaxis diagnosis and treatment.