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Prospective Assessment of Pill-Swallowing Ability in Pediatric Patients

Denise F Jones1,2, Abigail R McRea1, Meera K Jairath1

  • 11 North Carolina Children's Hospital, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.

Clinical Pediatrics
|August 4, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Many children struggle with pill-swallowing ability (PSA). Inpatient children demonstrated better PSA than outpatients, suggesting a need for targeted screening in hospitals and wider screening in outpatient settings.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric medicine
  • Pharmacology
  • Patient safety

Background:

  • Difficulty with pill-swallowing ability (PSA) is a frequent challenge in pediatric populations.
  • Formal evaluation of PSA is often overlooked in routine clinical practice.
  • Accurate assessment of PSA is crucial for appropriate medication administration in children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To prospectively evaluate and compare the pill-swallowing ability (PSA) of pediatric inpatients and outpatients.
  • To identify children with impaired PSA using the Pediatric Oral Medications Screener.
  • To determine factors influencing PSA in children aged 3 to 17 years.

Main Methods:

  • A prospective study involving 109 children (47 inpatients, 62 outpatients) aged 3-17 years.
  • Utilized the Pediatric Oral Medications Screener to assess PSA with 3 placebo pill sizes (5 mm tablet, 10 mm tablet, 22 mm capsule).
  • Collected subjective data from parents and children regarding swallowing difficulties.

Main Results:

  • 16% of children could not swallow any pill size, while 60% could swallow all formulations.
  • Significant differences in PSA were observed between inpatient and outpatient groups.
  • Inpatients exhibited superior PSA compared to outpatients (P = .004) after controlling for confounding factors.

Conclusions:

  • Inpatient children demonstrated significantly better pill-swallowing ability than their outpatient counterparts.
  • The findings support the implementation of targeted PSA screening for inpatients.
  • Widespread screening for reduced PSA in outpatient pediatric settings is recommended to ensure safe medication use.

Keywords:
oral medication screeningpill-swallowing ability

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