Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T08:10:59.276Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Naseptin® and peanut oil: a survey of practitioners' awareness in the UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2007

T Abed*
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Southend Hospital, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, UK
S Farhat
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Southend Hospital, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, UK
G Watters
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Southend Hospital, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, UK
*
Address for correspondence: Tarik Abed, ENT Department, Southend Hospital, Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex SS0 0RY. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this study was to determine how aware ENT practitioners are that Naseptin® (Alliance), widely used in ENT practice, contains peanut oil and to what extent this is conveyed to patients.

Methods:

A questionnaire was sent out to all ENT practitioners registered with the British Association of Otolaryngologists.

Result:

Analysis of the data confirmed that Naseptin cream is widely used in ENT practice and showed that although most practitioners are aware that Naseptin cream contains refined peanut oil (arachis oil) (74.3 per cent of consultants and 93.6 per cent of registrars) not all ask their patients whether they are allergic to peanuts (62.6 per cent of consultants and 87.3 per cent of registrars).

Conclusion:

The results suggest that more should be done to raise awareness amongst practitioners that Naseptin cream contains peanut oil and should be avoided in patients with a peanut allergy, as recommended by national guidelines. The use of Naseptin cream when contraindicated may have medicolegal implications.

Type
Clinical Record
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Department of Health, UK Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment. Peanut Allergy. http://archive.food.gov.uk/dept_health/archive/cot/peanut.htm (1998) [28 June 2007]Google Scholar
2 Department of Health, UK CMO Update 36. A communication to all doctors from the Chief Medical Officer. Medicines containing peanut (arachis) oil (2003) http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/CMOupdate/DH_4065106 [12 June 2007]Google Scholar
3 Taylor, SL, Busse, W, Sachs, M, Parker, J, Yunginger, J. Peanut oil is not allergenic to peanut-sensitive individuals. J Allergy Clin Immunol 1981;68:372–5CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4 Hourihane, JO'B, Bedwani, JB, Dean, TP, Warner, JO. Randomised, double-blind, crossover challenge study of allergenicity of peanut oils in subjects allergic to peanuts. BMJ 1997;314:1084CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5 Lack, G, Fox, D, Northstone, K, Golding, J. Factors associated with the development of peanut allergy in childhood. N Engl J Med 2003;348:977–85CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6 Weeks, R. Peanut oil in medications. Lancet 1996;348:759–60CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7 Merz, B. Behind the research – Studying peanut anaphylaxis. N Engl J Med 2003;348:975–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8 Olszewski, , Pons, I, Moutete, F, Aimone-Gastin, I, Kanny, D, Moneret-Vautrin, D. Isolation and characterization of proteic allergens in refined peanut oil. Clin Exp Allergy 1998;28:850–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9 Peeters, K, Knulst, A, Rynja, F, Bruijnzeel-Koomen, C, Koppelman, S. Peanut allergy: Sensitisation by peanut oil-containing local therapeutics seems unlikely. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2004;113:1000–1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed