Abstract
BackgroundAnaphylactic sting reactions need a prompt management. A structured educational intervention for patients with insect sting allergy has not been implemented so far. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of a structured 90-min educational intervention for patients with insect sting allergy.MethodsPatients with an insect venom allergy were offered to participate in a structured 90-min group education (intervention group (IG)) or to attend a control group (CG). The patients’ subjective self-assurance in using the emergency medication, the willingness to always carry the emergency medication, the mental health status, absolute one-time willingness-to-pay (WTP) for complete cure, a disease knowledge assessment and a simulation test to examine the ability to manage an acute sting reaction were estimated at baseline (t0) and at follow-up (t1) as outcome parameters.Results55 patients participated in the IG (n = 25, 52.0% female, mean age 55.9 years) or the CG (n = 30, 56.7% female, mean age 52.0 years). Both arms showed a significant gain in self-assurance in using the emergency medication (IG: 6.1 at t0 vs. 8.6 at t1, p < 0.0001 and CG: 7.1 vs. 8.0, p = 0.0062) and ability to manage an acute sting reaction (IG: 6.7 vs. 11.4, p < 0.0001 and CG: 9.0 vs. 10.5, p = 0.0002) at t1. However, trained participants showed a significantly higher gain in the respective parameters. There were no significant changes regarding the remaining examined outcome parameters.ConclusionsPatients who are willing to invest 90 min in a patient education intervention benefit significantly by an increased subjective and objective empowerment to manage an acute sting reaction.
Highlights
Anaphylactic sting reactions need a prompt management
We suggested that a shorter patient education addressing patients with insect sting allergy may be beneficial, too
Inclusion criteria comprised age ≥ 18 years and diagnosis of an anaphylactic reaction after an insect sting confirmed by an allergist (defined as a history of insect venom-related anaphylaxis and evidence of immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated sensitization to the insect)
Summary
Anaphylactic sting reactions need a prompt management. A structured educational intervention for patients with insect sting allergy has not been implemented so far. The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of a structured 90-min educational intervention for patients with insect sting allergy. Given the serious consequences for untreated anaphylactic reactions or the misuse of the emergency medication, adequate patient education regarding anaphylaxis is crucial. Poor knowledge on how to use the emergency kit and poor compliance in carrying the emergency medication have been frequently reported [8,9,10] and the need for better patient education is repeatedly highlighted [7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16]
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