Nearly 60% of patients with adrenal insufficiency and their caregivers needed to administer emergency glucocorticoid injections, yet more than one third failed, resulting in negative outcomes. Confusion, illness, and the need for assistance were primary barriers to self-administered injections.

“Education about the condition and its treatment is central to this process for all stakeholders,” the authors wrote. “Our data emphasize the urgency and importance of gathering the stakeholders to initiate the comprehensive redesign of emergency care for patients with AI [adrenal insufficiency],” they added.

“Timely, effective intervention can mean the difference between recovery and a life-threatening situation,” Elizabeth Regan, MD, PhD, a physician researcher at National Jewish Health and senior author of the study, said in a press release.

This study was led by Whitaker J. Hover and Aiden D. Krein, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Department of Medicine, National Jewish Health in Denver. It was published online in Endocrine Practice.

The anonymous and internet-based nature of this study limited the verification of disease status and the diagnostic records. Additionally, participants were from a patient advocacy group with extensive educational programs, which might not have represented the general population of patients with adrenal insufficiency.

This study did not report any funding source. One author reported being the Founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Solution Medical, which is developing injector products for adrenal crisis treatment.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.