Participants and procedure
Adult participants (aged ≥18 years) with a diagnosis of anaphylaxis
meeting the World Allergy Organization (WAO) diagnostic
criteria2 as assessed by a specialist in allergy were
recruited from allergy clinics in University Hospitals Birmingham (UHB)
NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK. Patients were excluded if they
lacked English language proficiency or if they lacked capacity to
provide informed consent. The UHB Allergy service is an accredited
centre by The Royal College of Physicians of London under the Improving
Quality in Allergy Services (IQAS) program and was designated as a WAO
centre of excellence in 2020. The service receives referrals from within
Birmingham and beyond including Coventry and Warwickshire,
Staffordshire, Shropshire and South Wales.
Patients were systematically assessed by a detailed clinical history and
allergy tests as per British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology
(BSACI) and European Association of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
(EAACI) guidelines13-19. All eligible participants who
attended the clinics were provided with a study participant information
sheet by health care professionals at the allergy clinic. If they wanted
to take part, they were asked to sign a consent form and complete the
questionnaires in clinic or take them home for completion. If they took
the questionnaires home, they were provided with an envelope with a
stamp and a return address to post back to RK’s study team at Aston
University, Birmingham. All completed questionnaire packs were separated
from consent forms, assigned a study code and analysed anonymously.