Endocrine Abstracts

We examined online questionnaire responses received Dec 2017 – Jan 2018 from a sample of well-informed adrenal patients belonging to the Addison’s Disease Self-Help Group (N=374). ADSHG members reported levels of preparedness to self-manage during adrenal emergencies that were strikingly higher than any UK clinic survey.

• 88% reported wearing medical jewellery

• 80% had an in-date injection kit with them at the time of their most recent adrenal emergency

• 74% carried an ADSHG emergency steroid alert card

Familiarity with injection method was disappointingly low even in this “expert patient” cohort.

• 40% had viewed the ADSHG’s online injection demonstration videos

• 36% had received 1- 1 injection training from an endocrine nurse

• 22% had received 1-1 injection training from a GP or practice nurse

• 15% had practiced injection method at an ADSHG group meeting

Educational materials launched by ADSHG since its previous member survey in 2013 appear to have made only a modest, positive contribution to patient competence in injection method (Table 1). These findings emphasize that endocrine units could do more to address patient safety. Ensuring all steroid-dependent patients are well-equipped and trained in how to survive adrenal crisis requires more systematic attention and resourcing across all clinics.