ArticlePaediatric drugs2016
Tablet/Capsule Size Variation Among the Most Commonly Prescribed Medications for Children in the USA: Retrospective Review and Firsthand Pharmacy Audit.
Article in Paediatric drugs, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trial
- Suitability of Oral Formulations Available to Children at the Time of Pediatric Labeling.The journal of pediatric pharmacology and therapeutics : JPPT : the official journal of PPAG · 2026Article
- Off-the-shelf medication transformed: Custom-dosed metoprolol tartrate tablets via semisolid extrusion additive manufacturing and the perception of this technique in a hospital context.International journal of pharmaceutics: X · 2024Article
- Geometry-Driven Fabrication of Mini-Tablets via 3D Printing: Correlating Release Kinetics with Polyhedral Shapes.Pharmaceutics · 2024Article
- Real-World Evidence to Assess Medication Safety or Effectiveness in Children: Systematic Review.Drugs - real world outcomes · 2020Review
- Requests for new oral antibiotic prescriptions in children within 2 days: a Norwegian population-based study.Family practice · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionChildren are frequently asked to take tablets and capsules of different sizes and shapes to manage acute and chronic medical conditions. Medication size is an important factor that contributes to compliance, yet few studies detail size variation or pediatric pharmacy inventory.
objectiveThis study assesses the available sizes and size variations of common inpatient and outpatient pediatric medications and provides an inventory of the tablet and capsule sizes available in a children's inpatient hospital pharmacy.
methodsWe derived the most frequently prescribed oral medications from US national databases, including the IMS, Vector One(®): National (VONA) and Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS). We analyzed a composite list using the National Library of Medicine Pillbox website, which provides size measurements. Medications from a children's inpatient pharmacy were audited and hand measured for comparison.
resultsWe created a list of the top 15 most prescribed inpatient and outpatient pediatric tablet/capsule medications and observed a wide variation in size: acetaminophen 500 mg ranged from 5 to 22 mm in length, median 15 mm. Common pediatric antibiotics were larger and ranged from 8 to 25 mm in length, median 17 mm. Hand-measured samples from the inpatient pharmacy were often the larger pill sizes, despite smaller alternatives being available.
conclusionsWe observed a marked variation in the sizes of common pediatric tablet/capsule medications, and pharmacies that serve children may not stock the most child-friendly medications. Tablet/capsule size does not appear to be considered when decisions about tablet and capsule medication selections are made. These results should increase awareness of these sizes and affect how physicians prescribe, how pharmacies order inventory, and how insurers and pharmaceutical companies pay for and produce pediatric medications.
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Registered trials
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