Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 25, 2026
10:33
Expedited Radiation Biodosimetry by Automated Dicentric Chromosome Identification ADCI and Dose Estimation
Published on: September 4, 2017
16.5K
Automated dose-rounding recommendations for pediatric medications
Kevin B Johnson1, Carlton K K Lee, S Andrew Spooner
1Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA. kevin.johnson@vanderbilt.edu
Pediatrics
|July 27, 2011
Summary
Pediatric electronic prescribing systems need better dose rounding tools. This study established best practices and a knowledge base for safe medication dosing in children, improving prescribing safety.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric pharmacology
- Health informatics
- Medication safety
Background:
- Electronic prescribing systems in pediatrics often lack clinical decision support for safe medication dose rounding.
- Tailoring medication doses while maintaining therapeutic intent requires robust rounding infrastructure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish best practices for pediatric medication dose rounding.
- To develop an interoperable knowledge base for dose-rounding information and best practices.
Main Methods:
- Conducted a literature review and interviewed 19 pediatric healthcare and pharmacy experts.
- Utilized a Delphi process to achieve consensus on rounding tolerances for common pediatric medications.
Main Results:
- Identified three medication-rounding philosophies: judicious rounding, rounding with caution, and rarely rounding due to toxicity.
- Established consensus rounding recommendations for 102 medications, categorizing some with inadequate data.
Conclusions:
- Provides the pediatric health IT community with recommended rounding tolerances for common pediatric drugs.
- The developed interoperable knowledge base can enhance electronic prescribing systems, improving safety and reducing workload.
Related Concept Videos
01:21Dose Size and Dosing Frequency: Determination Methods
287
Determining the optimal dose size and dosing frequency in pharmacotherapy is crucial for achieving therapeutic effectiveness while minimizing adverse effects. This article explores the methodologies employed in determining these parameters, focusing on their significance and interplay to tailor dosing regimens.Dose Size: Dose size refers to the amount of a drug administered in a single dose. It is determined based on the drug's pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics properties and...
287
01:25Determination of Multiple Dosing Parameters: Loading and Maintenance Doses
230
A loading dose is an essential pharmacological strategy to rapidly achieve the target plasma drug concentration necessary for an immediate therapeutic effect. This approach is especially critical for drugs characterized by slow absorption or extended half-lives, where delaying therapeutic plasma levels could compromise treatment outcomes. By administering a loading dose, clinicians ensure a prompt onset of drug action, even for agents with complex pharmacokinetic profiles.Achieving steady-state...
230
01:26Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion
214
In pediatric medicine, understanding the renal function and drug elimination nuances is crucial for administering safe and effective treatments. Newborns, in particular, display markedly slower renal functions than adults, profoundly affecting how drugs are cleared from their bodies. This slower drug clearance requires clinicians to extend the dosing intervals for many medications to prevent drug accumulation and toxicity while ensuring therapeutic efficacy.One key area where these adjustments...
214
01:24Rational Dosage Regimen: Maintenance Dose and Loading Dose
5.5K
A rational dosage regimen considers a drug's pharmacokinetics, including its absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination from the body. By understanding these factors, the appropriate dosage can be determined, and the dosing schedule can be designed to achieve and maintain the desired therapeutic effect while minimizing adverse effects.
In most cases, drugs are administered repetitively or infused continuously to maintain a steady-state concentration in the body. At a steady...
In most cases, drugs are administered repetitively or infused continuously to maintain a steady-state concentration in the body. At a steady...
5.5K
01:23Inhaled Medications
769
Inhaled medications are crucial for managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. They are essential for effective treatment and control, ensuring optimal respiratory health and well-being. Inhaled medication delivers drugs directly to the lungs, providing a rapid onset of action and reducing systemic side effects compared to oral or injectable medications. Three primary types of inhalation devices are used to administer these medications: nebulizers, metered-dose inhalers...
769
01:03Dose-Response Relationship: Overview
5.0K
Agonists can bind with and activate receptors, resulting in the formation of drug-receptor complexes. Once formed, these complexes catalyze many biochemical processes at the cellular level and subsequently induce a pharmacologic response. The degree of response is directly proportional to the fraction of activated receptors, which in turn, depends on the concentration of the drug at the receptor site as well as the sensitivity of the receptor. An increase in the administered dose contributes to...
5.0K