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[Vitamin E mixture for children--treatment with a blindfold?]
Tone Westergren1, Betty Kalikstad
1RELIS Sør, Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo. tone.westergren@rikshospitalet.no
Summary
Norwegian hospital pharmacies commonly use extemporaneously produced vitamin E drops for children, often based on veterinary or infant formulations. Inconsistent data on these vitamin E products may lead to suboptimal dosing and adverse effects.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric pharmacology
- Nutritional science
- Pharmaceutical compounding
Context:
- Vitamin E is crucial for various pediatric conditions, but Norway lacks a licensed pediatric formulation.
- Hospital pharmacies in Norway extemporaneously produce vitamin E preparations.
- Existing recipes are derived from veterinary or premature infant formulations.
Purpose:
- To investigate the types of oral vitamin E drops produced or procured by Norwegian hospital pharmacies.
- To understand the current practices in pediatric vitamin E supplementation in Norway.
Summary:
- A survey of 30 Norwegian hospital pharmacies revealed that 27 responded, with 18 (66.6%) producing or procuring vitamin E drops.
- Over 40% used a veterinary-based formulation (Vitamin E 50 mg/ml), and 33.3% used an infant-based formulation (Vitamin E 50 IE/ml).
Impact:
- Lack of standardized vitamin E formulations for children in Norway.
- Inconsistent data on formulations, concentrations, dosing, and toxicity.
- Potential for sub-optimal treatment, adverse reactions, or overdosing in pediatric patients.
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