First Aid Course Canberra. New Epipen Usage. Fast Certificate Delivery. Asthma and Anaphylaxis First Aid Course.
Australians prescribed EpiPen® or EpiPen® Jr are probably aware of changes made to administration of the EpiPen® autoinjector in the USA in 2016. Now that the USA manufacturer, Mylan, has permission from the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to make the changes in Australia advice on administration of the EpiPen® has also changed in Australia.
The devices have not changed, just the instructions on the label, which now include:
- Reduced injection time from 10 to 3 seconds – this is based on research confirming delivery of adrenaline through the 3 second delivery time.
- Removal of the massage step after the injection – this has been found to reduce the risk of irritation at the injection site.
EpiPen® and EpiPen® Jr adrenaline (epinephrine) autoinjectors with the 3 second label will start to enter pharmacies in Australia from today (13 June 2017) onwards.
EpiPen®s with a 10 second label can continue to be used and should not be replaced unless they have been used, are just about to expire or have expired.
All EpiPen®s should now be held in place for 3 seconds, regardless of the instructions on the label. However, if they are held for 10 seconds it will not affect the way that the adrenaline works.
ASCIA Action Plans for Anaphylaxis have been updated to reflect the above changes as have other ASCIA resources at www.allergy.org.au/anaphylaxis
A&AA has updated our administration of EpiPen® animation which can be viewed below or on our YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/Zmt-cI1ZIYE.
A new short video featuring Dr Andrew Rochford, explaining changes can be viewed below or on our YouTube Channel at https://youtu.be/yisK5OeJHTE.
EpiPen® administration
EpiPen® Change and How to Use
Content updated 13 June 2017