BMJ 1995;311:1435-1436 (25 November)

Letters

Chart helps with calculation of dose of adrenaline for children

EDITOR,--In the report of a case of anaphylaxis that prompted Malcolm Fisher's review the casualty officer had difficulty in determining the correct dose of adrenaline for a 5 year old child.1 Fisher recommends 0.01 ml of 1/1000 adrenaline solution/kg by intramuscular injection or 0.1 ml of 1/10000 solution/kg intravenously. This advice would not have helped the attending doctor to check the correct dose rapidly, and one can imagine the reaction of parents if children are taken to be weighed before emergency treatment is given.

Doses should be stated clearly according to expected body weight by age and should be displayed in accident and emergency departments. Current recommendations for the treatment of anaphylaxis in a 5 year old child are that 0.4 ml of 1/1000 adrenaline should be given by intramuscular injection.2 3

Locum consultant epidemiologist PHLS Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, London NW9 5EQ

James Stuart 

  1. Fisher M. Treatment of acute anaphylaxis. BMJ . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Fortnightly Review: Treatment of acute anaphylaxis
Malcolm Fisher
BMJ 1995 311: 731-733. [Abstract] [Full Text]

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