Observational studyPaediatric drugs2016
Analgesic Drug Prescription Patterns on Five International Paediatric Wards.
Observational study in Paediatric drugs, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use and its complications among pediatric patients at a private tertiary care hospital in Malaysia.BMC pediatrics · 2025Article
- Prescribing Patterns in Pediatric General Wards and Their Association with Prescribing Errors: A Retrospective Observational Study.Drugs - real world outcomes · 2023Article
- Metamizole Use in Children: Analysis of Drug Utilisation and Adverse Drug Reactions at a German University Hospital between 2015 and 2020.Paediatric drugs · 2022Article
- Prescribing of Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs, Tramadol, and Opioids in Children: Patterns of Its Utilization.Journal of pharmacy & bioallied sciences · 2020Article
- Opioid e-prescribing trends at discharge in a large pediatric health system.Journal of opioid managementArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimAnalgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs are frequently prescribed in paediatrics. Prescribing and dosing patterns in hospitalised children are not well known. This study explores analgesic drug utilisation on five paediatric wards and discusses its findings in comparison with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
methodA sub-analysis of a prospective, multicentre, observational cohort study was undertaken. Prescription data of children aged up to ≤18 years were collected between October 2008 and December 2009 on paediatric general medical wards in five hospitals in Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom (UK), Hong Kong (HK) and Malaysia. Analgesic drug prescriptions were analysed for prescribing patterns in terms of dosing, frequency and route of administration. Dosing data were compared with local recommendations and WHO guidelines for children.
resultsIn the study cohort, 56.8 % (726/1278) of paediatric patients received at least one analgesic drug prescription (1227 prescriptions). The median age of patients with analgesics was 2.2 years [interquartile range (IQR) 0.8-7.3], and the median number of prescriptions per patient was one (IQR 1-2). The most commonly prescribed drugs were oral paracetamol (45.9 %, 563/1227) and oral ibuprofen (19.9 %, 244/1227). Daily doses of paracetamol ranged from 30 mg/kg/day in Germany to 67-68 mg/kg/day in the UK and HK (p < 0.05). For ibuprofen, single doses ranged from 5-6 mg/kg in HK and the UK to 10 mg/kg in Germany and Australia (p < 0.001). Opioid use prevalence was statistically different between the centres and ranged from 0 to 17.6 % (p < 0.001).
conclusionThis study provides a comprehensive overview of analgesic drug use of hospitalised children. Similar to primary care data, paracetamol is the most commonly used analgesic. As recommended by WHO guidelines, oral medication was favoured and opioids used in addition to paracetamol and ibuprofen. Overall drug utilisation was in line with local recommendations and WHO guidelines. Differences in use of paracetamol and ibuprofen among countries were seen, indicating that safety concerns are perceived differently. More large-scale safety studies are needed.
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