Life-saving allergy pens may be unsafe

ADRENALINE injections used by thousands of allergy sufferers in Britain are ‘inherently unsafe’ and could prove deadly if not overhauled, a coroner has warned.

The alarming verdict on Epipens was issued in a report into the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who had a fatal reaction after eating a Pret a Manger sandwich.

The schoolgirl went into cardiac arrest despite being given two Epipen injections when she ate an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette bought at Heathrow airport.

In a damning report, coroner Dr Sean Cummings said the so- called ‘auto injector’ devices were deficient, raising concerns about the length of their needles and the dosage they contained.

In a report sent to drug giant Pfizer, which produces Epipens, he warned that ‘future deaths could occur’ if action is not taken.

The device is given to people who suffer allergies, with 190,000 prescribed by the NHS in 2016. They work by using a spring mechanism to deliver adrenaline into the muscle, easing the symptoms of anaphylaxis.

People with severe allergies are urged to carry them at all times. But Dr Cummings, the assistant coroner for West London, said the Epipen’s 16mm needle length was too short to reach muscle when administered and was suitable only for ‘pre-term or very small infants’.

The coroner pointed to alternative auto-injectors with longer needles. The UK Resuscitation Council says a length of 25mm (1in) is most suitable to reach muscle. The body also recommends an emergency adrenaline dosage of 500 micrograms, but the Epipen contains only 300 micrograms.

‘The combination of what my expert told me was an inadequate dose of adrenaline for anaphylaxis and an inadequate needle length raises serious safety concerns,’ Dr Cummings wrote.

‘The use of needles which access only subcutaneous tissue and not muscle is in my view inherently unsafe.’

A global shortage of Epipens saw regulators last month certify the use of some out- ofdate Epipens in the UK.

The coroner’s report was sent to the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority, environment secretary Michael Gove and Pret a Manger.

Pfizer did not comment.