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Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion01:26

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion

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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...
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Drug Dosing: Infants and Children01:29

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Pediatric patient dosages diverge from adults due to disparities in body surface area, total body water, and extracellular fluid per kilogram of body weight. The dosing regimen considers the variations in pharmacokinetics and pharmacology across distinct age groups, encompassing preterm newborns, infants, young children, older children, and adolescents. Calculation of pediatric patient doses is predicated on determining body surface area, which exhibits a superior correlation with the child's...
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Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism01:24

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In pediatric care, understanding the nuances of hepatic drug metabolism is crucial, as it significantly differs from that of adults. This divergence is primarily due to the developmental stage of drug-metabolizing enzymes, which affects how medications are processed in the body. In neonates, for instance, the activity of Phase I enzymes—critical for the initial breakdown of drugs—is markedly reduced, functioning at just 20–40% of the levels seen in adults. This reduction poses...
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Prescription drugs require a prescription from a medical practitioner and can only be obtained from a pharmacy. They have many applications, including treating pain, anxiety, and hypertension.
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Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption01:23

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Understanding the physiological differences in the pediatric population is crucial for effective pharmacotherapy. Neonates, infants, and children exhibit significant variations in gastric pH, gastric emptying time, intestinal transit time, and biliary function. These variations profoundly affect oral drug absorption, necessitating a nuanced approach to pediatric dosing.Neonates present with a unique physiological profile, having a gastric pH greater than 4 and faster and more irregular gastric...
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Drug distribution in the pediatric population exhibits unique challenges and considerations due to the physiological differences between children, particularly neonates and infants, and adults. A crucial aspect of pediatric pharmacology is understanding how these differences impact the pharmacokinetics of various drugs, necessitating age-specific dosing strategies to ensure efficacy and safety.Neonates and infants have a higher total body water content, ~75%–90% of their body weight,...
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Pediatric self-medication use in Rwanda - a cross sectional study.

Joyeuse Ukwishaka1, Christian Umuhoza1,2, Peter Cartledge1,2,3

  • 1University of Rwanda.

African Health Sciences
|August 16, 2021
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Self-medication is prevalent in Rwanda, with 77.9% of parents using it for children under ten. Factors like having multiple young children, age, and location influence modern versus traditional medicine choices.

Keywords:
Nonprescription DrugsRwandaSelf-medicationcaregiverschildrenmedicinesparents

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Area of Science:

  • Public Health
  • Pharmaceutical Sciences
  • Global Health

Background:

  • Self-medication is a global practice with inherent benefits and risks.
  • In Rwanda, the absence of prescription requirements facilitates the use of prescription, non-prescription, and traditional medications for self-medication.
  • This practice extends to pediatric care, with parents making independent decisions regarding medication for their children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the prevalence of self-medication among children in Rwanda.
  • To understand parental attitudes and motivations behind self-medicating their children.
  • To differentiate between modern and traditional self-medication practices and their associated factors.

Main Methods:

  • A quantitative, cross-sectional, multi-center study was conducted.
  • Data was collected from 154 parents/caregivers of children under ten years old.
  • Questionnaires were administered in both private and public health facilities.

Main Results:

  • Self-medication use was reported by 77.9% of participants.
  • Modern self-medication was used by 50.8%, traditional by 15.8%, and both by 33.3%.
  • Paracetamol was the most common modern drug; Rwandan local herbs were used traditionally. Parental confidence was higher with modern medicines. Barriers to consultation were a key reason for modern self-medication. Factors associated with self-medication included having multiple children under ten. Age over 30 and living in Kigali were associated with preferring modern over traditional self-medication.

Conclusions:

  • Self-medication is a widespread practice among parents in Rwanda for children under ten.
  • Parental socio-demographic background does not preclude involvement in self-medication.
  • Understanding the drivers of modern versus traditional self-medication is crucial for targeted health interventions.