Data presented at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) in San Antonio, TX, highlighted the need for better management and support for individuals with food allergies during air travel to improve quality of life. them and to facilitate safer travel. .
Epinephrine autoinjectors pose a definite barrier for multiple reasons in terms of adherence and also when it comes to air travel. Christopher Warren, PhD, assistant professor of preventive medicine and director of Population Health Research at the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma Research, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, explained his last data. in an interview with HCPLive.
“Overwhelmingly, respondents said they not only carried epinephrine on board as a step to try to be proactive about management, but most actually carried extra epinephrine on board because usually you’re traveling somewhere, he said. “And it’s often recommended to have 2 epinephrine auto-injectors in case a reaction doesn’t resolve after one.”
When anaphylaxis occurs, it is imperative to treat it immediately. Epinephrine autoinjectors serve as a rescue therapy that is easier to administer than measuring epinephrine, pulling out a syringe and injecting it into the appropriate tissue, Warren explained, which can be especially tricky when a anaphylactic stress event.
So, although the study results showed that most of these individuals carry at least one epinephrine autoinjector, Warren and his team also found that when anaphylaxis occurred in the air, only 15% of the cases were treated with epinephrine. However, there are many factors at play.
“There are concerns about epinephrine being confiscated (at airport security), because of the stories that are happening, and so that’s one thing that can lead to anxiety among families about emergency medical kits on airplanes,” he explained.
While the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) allows travelers to bring their own epinephrine autoinjectors, data collected from more than 4,700 individuals or caregivers traveling with a food allergy showed reports of complications with this. The study’s findings also suggested that this population displayed a higher trust in other people who have or understand those with food allergies than in regulations or accommodations in air travel.
“In a way, there’s probably a false sense of security,” Warren said, “because so many people have food allergies and so many people carry auto-injectors that there’s almost, like — you can think of a herd immunity, where there’s enough people on an average flight – there are likely to be some people with food allergies.”
Watch the rest of HCPLive’s interview with Dr. Christopher Warren:
- Christopher Warren, PhD: Managing food allergies in the sky
- Largest study on food allergies in air travel reveals unmet need
- 1 in 3 people with food allergies choose not to disclose during air travel
