Few pediatricians putting peanut allergy guidelines into practice

(HealthDay)—Most pediatricians are aware of the 2017 Addendum Guidelines for the Prevention of Peanut Allergy in the United States, but less than one-third are fully implementing them, according to a study published online July 15 in JAMA Network Open.

Ruchi S. Gupta, M.D., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues surveyed 1,781 practicing U.S. pediatricians (67.4 percent female) to measure the rates of guideline awareness and implementation and identify barriers to implementation.

The researchers found that 93.4 percent of pediatricians reported being aware of the guidelines. Just over one-quarter of pediatricians with knowledge of the guidelines (28.9 percent) reported full implementation, while nearly two-thirds (64.3 percent) reported partial implementation. Parental concerns about allergic reactions (36.6 percent), uncertainty in understanding and correctly applying the guidelines (33.2 percent), and conducting in-office supervised feedings (32.4 percent) were cited as common barriers to implementation. More than two-thirds of pediatricians (68.4 percent) reported a need for further training on the guidelines.

"These findings suggest that understanding implementation barriers and needs among pediatricians is necessary to increase adherence and reduce peanut allergy incidence in infants," the authors write.