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Prescribing in obese children: how good are paediatricians?

Helen Collier1, Maria Nasim2, Anjum Gandhi2

  • 1Department of Paediatrics, Good Hope Hospital, West Midlands, UK.

Archives of Disease in Childhood
|July 28, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Pediatricians often lack knowledge of ideal body weight (IBW) calculations for obese children, leading to potential medication dosing errors. Enhanced training is crucial for accurate pediatric drug administration.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatrics
  • Pharmacology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood obesity presents a growing global health challenge.
  • Accurate medication dosing in pediatric patients is critical for therapeutic efficacy and safety.
  • Using total body weight for drug dosage calculations in obese children may lead to incorrect dosing.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate pediatricians' understanding and application of ideal body weight (IBW) methods for medication dosing in obese children.
  • To assess awareness of the McLaren method for IBW calculation among pediatricians.

Main Methods:

  • A questionnaire-based survey was administered to pediatric doctors.
  • The survey assessed knowledge of ideal body weight (IBW) concepts and calculation methods, specifically the McLaren method.

Main Results:

  • Most surveyed pediatricians did not assess for childhood obesity when calculating drug doses.
  • A significant deficit in understanding ideal body weight (IBW) was observed.
  • Only 9% of participating pediatricians could correctly calculate IBW using the McLaren method.

Conclusions:

  • There is a critical need for improved education and guidelines on IBW calculation for obese children.
  • Enhanced training for pediatricians is essential to prevent medication dosing errors and potential toxicity in pediatric obesity.
  • Addressing knowledge gaps in pediatric pharmacotherapy for obese children is vital for patient safety.

Keywords:
ObesityPaediatric PracticePharmacology

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