Related Experiment Videos
Medication use and potential drug interactions in pediatric patients with infectious diseases
Insights
Antimicrobial agents, including ampicillin, were the most common drugs prescribed for children in pediatric infectious disease units. While potential drug interactions occurred, none were clinically significant.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Clinical Pharmacy
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Infectious diseases are a leading cause of illness in children.
- Data on drug prescribing patterns in pediatric infectious disease units are limited.
- Understanding drug use is crucial for optimizing patient care and safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the pattern of drug prescribing in a pediatric infectious disease unit.
- To evaluate the incidence of potential drug interactions in this population.
- To inform clinical pharmacy services and antibiotic stewardship.
Main Methods:
- Prospective evaluation of medication records.
- Inclusion of 493 pediatric patients over a 5-month period.
- Analysis of drug classes and specific agents prescribed.
Main Results:
- Antimicrobial agents constituted 60% of all drug orders.
- Ampicillin was the most frequent antibiotic (24% of antibiotic orders).
- Other common drugs included antipyretics (14%), bronchodilators (10%), and anticonvulsants (7%).
- Potential drug interactions occurred in 3.5% of cases, primarily involving anticonvulsants, with no clinically significant events documented.
Conclusions:
- Antimicrobials are the predominant drug class used in pediatric infectious disease units.
- Knowledge of prescribing patterns can guide pharmacy services and antibiotic stewardship initiatives.
- While potential drug interactions exist, they were not clinically significant in this cohort.
Abstract:
Infectious diseases are the most common type of illness in pediatric patients. Limited data are available, however, about the most frequently prescribed drugs for children in pediatric infectious diseases units. The authors prospectively evaluated medication records of 493 children over a 5-month period to determine the pattern of drug prescribing and incidence of potential drug interactions in children admitted to the infectious diseases unit in a pediatric hospital. Antimicrobial agents were the most frequently prescribed class of drugs, comprising 60% of all drug orders. Of all antibiotics used during this period, ampicillin was the most common (24% of antibiotic orders). Ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, and gentamicin were also used frequently and consisted of 15%, 10%, and 14% of all orders for anti-infective agents, respectively. Other classes of drugs frequently given to patients on the infectious disease unit were antipyretics (14%), bronchodilators (10%), and anticonvulsants (7%). The incidence of potential drug interactions was 3.5%, the majority involving anticonvulsants. A clinically significant drug interaction was not documented in any of these cases. Observations made from this study may assist in developing clinical pharmacy services and educational programs for pharmacy students. In addition, knowledge of drug use patterns may aid in conducting antibiotic use reviews.