Cultures, contaminants, children and COVID-19: an analysis of blood culture trends

636 Figure 1 636 Figure 2Conclusion• The incidence of significant bacteraemia per year was relatively steady and did not appear to be influenced by the activity of the hospital.• Escherichia Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus remain the top significant illness-causing bacteria for general paediatric cases.• In 2020, the proportion of significant blood culture results was highest (figure 2). This may be due to less minor illness presenting to hospital or possibly better aseptic technique and more frequent handwashing.

Quick, stab me in the thigh! Oops I’ve forgotten my EpiPen-a peer pilot survey of teenagers’ perspectives

BackgroundAnaphylaxis is a severe life-threatening allergic reaction;the treatment of choice is adrenaline(epinephrine). The most common UK adrenaline auto-injector is the EpiPen. Primary school children (under 11 years) will have this administered by a parent/carer or teacher if in school. Secondary school aged children (11–18) are supposed to carry their EpiPens themselves for self-administration, however many do not.ObjectivesPilot survey exploring the reasons that secondary school aged children do not carry their EpiPens and rating suggestions for how to improve this.MethodsA questionnaire was devised exploring these issues asking:Do they have an EpiPen?Their knowledge of EpiPens? (sliding bar range: 0 bad to 10 good)Were they concerned about adolescents not carrying their EpiPens?Which of the following did they think were factors for teenagers not carrying their EpiPens? (Multiple responses accepted).Nowhere to put themForgottenExpiredDon’t expect them to be neededDon’t realise they have toOther (asked to specify)Rate the following in effectiveness to increase teenagers carrying EpiPens;Smaller Pens;Better education;Better ways to carry them(Likert scale: 1 not good to 5 ideal).The questionnaire was approved by the school as part of a sixth form Welsh Baccalaureate project. It was sent digitally as a convenience sample to members of the sixth form, Girl Guides and an adult from each family to complete via SurveyMonkey®. Comparative statistical tests comparing adults and teenagers results were performed(p<0.05 taken as significant).ResultsThe survey was sent to 82 teenagers;there were 61 respondents, 35 teenagers and 26 adults.Q1) Only 2 children had EpiPens.Q2) EpiPen knowledge: Overall mean score4.4 (SD 2.8). Teenagers mean 4.0 (SD 2.5): adults mean 5.0 (SD 3.1): students t-test t-value 1.43 p=0.079.Q3) Concerned about EpiPen carriage: Overall yes 47(77.1%), no 3(4.9%), don’t know 11(18.0%). Teenagers yes 30(85.7%), no 1(2.9%), don’t know 4(11.4%): adults yes 17(65.4%), no 2(7.7%), don’t know 7(26.9%). Chi-square1.1132 p=0.29.Q4)Factors for teenagers not carrying their EpiPens n(%) Nowhere to put them 27(44%) Forgotten 37(61%) Expired 7(11%) Not expected to be needed 45(74%) Don’t realise they have to 17(28%) Other 9(15%) Q5)Methods to improve carriage Mean rating(1–5) Mann-Whitney U value P value Overall score Adults Teenagers Smaller Pens 3.5 3.6 3.5 418.5 0.84 Better education 4.1 3.9 4.3 359.0 0.24 Better ways to carry them 3.7 3.6 3.9 376.5 0.36 ConclusionsThere was a wide range of self-reported knowledge scores about EpiPens and most respondents were concerned that EpiPens were often not carried. They felt the reasons for this included;not expecting them to be needed, forgetting them and not having anywhere to carry them due to their size. Almost all respondents felt that education and an improved, smaller design for both EpiPens and their carrycases would increase carriage rates. In this pilot survey no differences between adults and children were demonstrated.Sixth form student projects may enable teenagers’ perspectives on medical topics to be assessed through a non-threatening peer evaluation. Post-Covid this peer based digital technique may warrant further exploration.