Knowledge and practices regarding anaphylaxis management in children and adolescents among teachers in KSA

Abstract

Introduction: Anaphylaxis is a common emergency and a serious allergic reaction that can be life threatening.  School going children are prone to many allergic reactions and  the knowledge and practices of teachers regarding these reactions and their management is poor. The literature is scarce regarding the school teachers’ awareness of anaphylaxis in KSA, therefore this study was undertaken to assess the awareness of anaphylaxis among teachers in Saudi Arabia and to assess their knowledge and practices  in anaphylaxis management among school going children.Material and Methods: This six month cross-sectional study was conducted among randomly selected Saudi teachers working in different regions of the Kingdom. The knowledge and attitude about their role in anaphylaxis management among students was assessed. Data was collected through self-administered electronic questionnaires and analyzed by using SPSS software version 22.0.Results: Out of 384 Saudi teachers the majority was middle aged and was women. Nearly 26.8% of the respondents had witnessed a student suffering from anaphylaxis. Majority (60.9%) of teachers hadn’t any awareness about anaphylaxis. In terms of the first administered drug in case of anaphylaxis, 25.3% teachers reported that they would use an antihistamine, whereas 16.4% reported that they would use epinephrine injection. Majority of the teachers (77.3%) did not know the proper route of epinephrine administration, which is intramuscular injection. Only 15.4% teachers had knowledge of epinephrine as a medication and 37.2% were aware of the administration method of self‑injection using an Epinephrine. Furthermore, 17.4% informed that there was an action plan in their  school in cases of anaphylaxis, and 11.7% reported that their school had an first aid medicine in case of an anaphylactic reaction.Conclusion: The knowledge and practices of Saudi teachers regarding anaphylactic reactions need to be strengthened. Teachers need further education regarding the management of allergic reactions encountered among students