School nurses find stock epinephrine improves safety of students with severe allergies
For school kids with severe food allergies, having epinephrine on hand at school can mean the difference between a scary moment and a life-threatening one. A new national survey of school nurses presented at the 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), held Nov. 12–16 in Phoenix, looks at how schools stock and manage this lifesaving…
A national survey of school nurses reveals that having stock epinephrine readily available at schools significantly boosts safety for students with severe food allergies. However, many families still face the challenge of supplying their own epinephrine devices to schools, which can be costly and difficult to manage. Nearly 1,850 school nurses were surveyed, with 87% reporting they keep stock epinephrine on hand, but 74% also require students to provide personal devices annually.
Schools without stock supplies saw an epinephrine device unavailable in emergencies 10% of the time, making them four times more likely to experience this issue compared to schools with stock epinephrine. This highlights the need for wider implementation of stock epinephrine programs in schools to alleviate the financial and logistical burdens on families and ensure epinephrine is always accessible when a student needs it.
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