Do 'EpiPens' Save Lives? - European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology Study

Over 100,000 adrenaline auto-injectors ('EpiPen') have been given to people with severe food allergy (food anaphylaxis) over the past 20 years, but as the death rate has remained at around five per year it seems possible they are not saving lives. New research from Dr Richard Pumphrey of the Central Manchester Hospitals, UK, has today revealed why. Dr Pumphrey looked at the circumstances around each of the 110 deaths from food allergy that have occurred since introduction of the EpiPen. He found that two out of three of those dying had not been given EpiPens because their previous reactions had been so mild. "Of those who had been given pens, around half used the pen late or not at all because they were not carrying them at the time of the attack", he explained, "and the other half had used the pens correctly but still died". This latter group are the most perplexing, and are an important focus of Dr. Pumphrey's research, delegates at the Congress of the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Istanbul were told today.