Dental practices are being advised to renew anaphylaxis kits with adrenaline ampoules not adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs), following recent supply disruption of EpiPens.

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England's Chief Dental Officer Sara Hurley has written to dentists in response to the disruption in the supply of EpiPen and EpiPen Junior adrenaline auto-injectors (AAIs).

The Department of Health and Social Care has said that eEpiPen and EpiPen Junior will be subject to limited availability for the remainder of 2018. Mylan are now out of stock of EpiPen Junior and interruptions in the supply are anticipated to continue for the coming months.

In the meantime, practices are being asked, when they renew the adrenaline in their anaphylaxis kits that they order ampoules, ensuring this includes dosing charts, needles and syringes, and not AAIs.

This will reduce the reliance on AAIs and preserve essential EpiPen stocks for patients, parents, carers, teachers, who as lay persons cannot be expected to administer adrenaline via a needle and syringe, said the CDO.

Supplies of adrenaline ampoules are currently available and there is an expectation that dental practitioners should use these in preference to the EpiPen or similar devices.

All enquiries relating to this issue should be sent to the DH Supply Resilience Team at supplyresiliencemd@dh.gsi.gov.uk.