[Food allergy at school: Personalized healthcare project and adrenaline]

Abstract

In Europe, the prevalence of food allergy is estimated at 6-8% of children. Ten to 20% of pediatric food-induced anaphylaxis reactions occur at school. Individual healthcare plans (IHP) for food allergy aim at: identifying children at risk of allergic reactions; reducing the risk of allergen exposure; providing emergency kits containing adrenaline auto-injectors (AAI) if needed with emergency action plans and instructions about when and how to use AAI. In France, IHP were introduced into law in 2003 and was updated in 2021. The number of IHP for allergy is increasing since 10 years (50,000 IHP for allergy/year). While the recommendations of the learned societies have resulted in the national harmonization of criteria for the implementation of IHP for allergy and for the prescription of emergency kits with AAI, adrenaline remains underused. In 2019, a national policy stated that all high schools must have a provision of spare AAI in case of anaphylaxis and the promotion of school staff training about food allergy and anaphylaxis was encouraged. These recommendations should be assessed widely and allergy training should be widespread. Pharmacists play an important role to take care of food-allergic children: provision of AAI prescribed for the most at-risk food allergic patients, advice and information on AAI. The pharmacist is therefore a key player in the therapeutic education of the patient to reinforce the key messages on the efficacy and safety of adrenaline used for anaphylaxis.

Keywords: Adrenaline; Adrenaline auto-injector; Adrénaline; Aliment; Allergie; Anaphylaxie; Auto-injecteur d’adrénaline; Enfant; Food; Individual healthcare plan; Pharmacien; Pharmacist; Projet d’accueil individualisé; School; allergy; anaphylaxis children; École.