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Pediatric iron preparations for infants in Bahrain: some therapeutic concerns

K A J Al Khaja1, R P Sequeira, T Al-Ansari

  • 1Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Arabian Gulf University, Kingdom of Bahrain. khlidj@agu.edu.bh

International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
|March 4, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric iron prescribing errors are common in Bahrain, with issues like unavailable brands and incorrect dosages. Improving communication between prescribers and pharmacists is crucial to reduce these medication errors.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric pharmacology
  • Medication safety
  • Public health

Background:

  • Infants and children are particularly vulnerable to medication errors.
  • Prescribing errors in pediatric care can have serious consequences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the types and frequency of prescribing errors for pediatric iron preparations in Bahrain's primary care.
  • To analyze prescribing patterns of iron supplements for infants.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective audit of 2,282 infant prescriptions from 20 primary care pharmacies.
  • Analysis focused on errors in iron preparation prescriptions over a two-week period.

Main Results:

  • 7.0% of prescriptions included iron; 90.6% used brand names, many not on the primary care drug list or in pediatric forms.
  • Significant prescribing errors included missing dosage forms (26.4%), duration (8.8%), and dosage (2.5%).
  • Dosage was often in metric volume (ml), and elemental iron prescribed varied significantly between physicians and nurses.

Conclusions:

  • Common errors include using unavailable brands, inconvenient dosage units, and omissions, likely due to poor prescriber-pharmacy communication and lack of information.
  • Strengthening communication, discouraging multiple brand procurement, and improving drug supply management are recommended.
  • Effective policies are needed to minimize prescribing errors in pediatric iron supplementation in Bahrain.
Abstract

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