Knowledge Levels of Pediatric Assistants on Anaphylaxis Management and Adrenaline Autoinjector Application Skills: Pretraining and Posttraining Evaluation

Abstract

Aim: The study aimed to evaluate the knowledge levels of pediatric residents about the treatment of anaphylaxis and the correct application skill of adrenaline auto-injector (AAI) and to determine the contribution of short-term training to this level.
 Material and Method: A questionnaire form was distributed to evaluate the basic information about the anaphylaxis treatment. And, all participants were asked to demonstrate the use of AAI using demo devices and mannequins. This assessment was considered a ‘Pre-Test’. At the end of the training, the steps of AAI use were re-evaluated. The data coming from this re-evaluation were recorded as ‘Post-Test’.
 Results: A total of 110 pediatric residents were included in our study. Most of the participants (94.6%) correctly knew that the first drug to be administered in the treatment of anaphylaxis was adrenaline. And also, 99.4% of the participants knew that adrenaline treatment should be administered intramuscularly. When asked where to apply adrenaline, 94.6 of the participants gave the correct answer. When the AAI application technique is evaluated with the pretest; It was observed that frequent mistakes were made in some steps. With the Post-Test applied after the training almost all the participants were able to complete the steps flawlessly
 Conclusion: It is important to increase the knowledge level, identify faulty steps, if any, and repeat the training of physicians who are obliged to supervise the AAI application technique of patients during outpatient follow-ups.