Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27559255›Full record

ArticleIndian journal of palliative care

Specialist Pediatric Palliative Care Prescribing Practices: A Large 5-year Retrospective Audit.

Anuja Damani, Naveen Salins, Arunangshu Ghoshal, MaryAnn Muckaden

Abstract read
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Article in Indian journal of palliative care. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Anuja DamaniDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Naveen SalinsDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Arunangshu GhoshalDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
MaryAnn MuckadenDepartment of Palliative Medicine, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThere is a gradual increasing trend in childhood cancers in India and pediatric palliative care in India is an emerging specialty. Prescribing pain and symptom control drugs in children with cancer requires knowledge of palliative care formulary, dosing schedules, and prescription guidelines. This study is a retrospective audit of prescribing practices of a specialist palliative care service situated in a tertiary cancer center.

methodsA total of 1135 medication records of children receiving specialist pediatric palliative care services were audited for 5 years (2010-2014) to evaluate prescribing practices in children with advanced cancer.

resultsA total of 51 types of drugs were prescribed with an average of 4.2 drugs per prescription. 66.9% of the prescriptions had paracetamol, and 33.9% of the prescriptions had morphine. Most common nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs prescribed was ibuprofen (23.9%), and more than 50% of the prescriptions had aperients. The most commonly prescribed aperient was a combination of liquid paraffin and sodium-picosulfate. Dexamethasone was prescribed in 51.9% of patients and in most cases this was part of oral chemotherapy regimen. Generic names in prescription were used only in 33% of cases, and adverse effects of the drugs were documented in only 9% of cases. In 25% of cases, noncompliance to the WHO prescription guidelines was seen, and patient compliance to prescription was seen in 40% of cases.

conclusionsAudit of the prescribing practices in specialist pediatric palliative care service shows that knowledge of pediatric palliative care formulary, rational drug use, dosing, and prescribing guidelines is essential for symptom control in children with advanced life-limiting illness. Noncompliance to WHO prescribing guidelines in one fourth of cases and using nongeneric names in two-thirds of prescription indicates poor prescribing practices and warrants prescriber education. Prescription noncompliance by almost two-thirds of patients is alarming and necessitates intense patient, family, and caregiver education and empowerment.

Indexed as

AuditPrescribing practicesSpecialist pediatric palliative care

Identifiers

PMID27559255
PMCPMC4973487

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