[Ak68w]

Good afternoon Docs. I have a question regarding treatment of Anaphylaxis patients. I was talking about the subject with a nurse I work with (I work in an OR) and he said that in anaphylaxis with the standard issue hypotension, epi is the key, just like every EMT book ever written says. But then he said something interesting; that you must check BP in anaphylaxis patients because in the unlikely occurence that the patient is hypertensive, atropine is the treatment of choice.
My questions are:
1) Has anyone ever actually encountered this? Before the OR Nurse said it, I'd never even heard about it before.
2) If so, is the difference in BP due to the allergen itself, or simply the patient? Where and why does it happen?
3) As the medic, what happens if I give epinepherine to a hypertensive anaphylactic patient? What if I give atropine to the hypotensive guy?
4) Are there any other signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis that would dictate a radically different course of action (like giving epi versus atropine)?
The nurse was unable to answer many of these questions, simply because he's used to the controlled environment of the OR, whereas I'm curious about ramifications in unpredictable field environments. Anyways, I figured if anyone would know, it'd be you QPs! Thanks for any and all info.