["MEDDOS", a computer program for constructing treatment plans in pediatric intensive care units].

Area of Science:

• Pediatric intensive care
• Clinical pharmacology
• Health informatics

Context:

• Establishing effective treatment regimens in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) is complex.
• Ensuring drug safety and accurate dosage calculations is critical for critically ill children.
• Manual calculation of drug dosages and nutritional intake can lead to errors.

Purpose:

• To develop and evaluate a computer program to standardize drug dosages and enhance drug safety in PICUs.
• To facilitate the creation of individualized treatment regimens for pediatric patients.
• To minimize calculation errors in drug administration and nutritional support.

Summary:

• The developed computer program allows users to input drugs, oral nutrition, and intravenous solutions into data files.
• It calculates individualized drug dosages based on preselected parameters and patient data.
• The system quantifies fluid volume and glucose intake, calculates glucose solution concentration, and provides a balance sheet for total daily intake of electrolytes, calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fat.
• Treatment schedules can be saved and restored for efficient patient management.

Impact:

• Potential to significantly improve drug safety and reduce medication errors in PICUs.
• Facilitates standardized and accurate administration of medications and nutritional support.
• Aids clinicians in managing complex treatment regimens for critically ill pediatric patients, potentially improving patient outcomes.