Related Experiment Video

Updated: Oct 17, 2025

Multiplex Therapeutic Drug Monitoring by Isotope-dilution HPLC-MS/MS of Antibiotics in Critical Illnesses
11:17

Multiplex Therapeutic Drug Monitoring by Isotope-dilution HPLC-MS/MS of Antibiotics in Critical Illnesses

Published on: August 30, 2018

13.0K

Cross-sectional study on the drug utilization and evaluation indicator of antibiotics used in pediatric population

Xu Hu1,2, Xueting Zhang1,2, Yao Wang1,2

  • 1Department of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, Anhui Institute of Innovative Drugs, School of Pharmacy, Anhui Medical University, 81 Meishan Road, Hefei, 230032, Anhui, People's Republic of China.

BMC Health Services Research
|October 14, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Establishing a children's drug utilisation index (cDUI) system helps evaluate paediatric antibiotic dosage accurately. This system, alongside prescription daily dose (PDD) and children's defined daily dose (cDDD), is crucial for analyzing drug use in children.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pharmacology
  • Drug Utilization Research
  • Antibiotic Stewardship

Background:

  • Paediatric medication standards are lacking due to age-related physiological differences, leading to inaccurate paediatric drug dosing.
  • Developing methods to evaluate and monitor rational paediatric medication use is essential.
  • Existing adult drug utilisation index (DUI) methods, based on Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical/Defined Daily Dose (DDD), need exploration for paediatric applicability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the applicability of drug utilisation index (DUI) methods for assessing paediatric drug dosage.
  • To evaluate the utility of a children's drug utilisation index (cDUI) system for paediatric dosage evaluation.

Main Methods:

  • Analyzed 5,538 antibiotic prescriptions from a general teaching hospital.
  • Calculated prescription daily dose (PDD) and determined under/overdose using the PDD/DDD ratio.
  • Explored children's defined daily dose (cDDD) and children's drug utilisation index (cDUI) for paediatric dosage evaluation.

Main Results:

  • The top five antibiotics prescribed were cefmetazole sodium, erythromycin lactobionate, amoxicillin/clavulanate potassium, ceftriaxone sodium, and azithromycin.
  • The ratio of children's drug utilisation index (cDUI) to prescription daily dose (PDD) over children's defined daily dose (cDDD) was frequently not close to 1, indicating dosage discrepancies.

Conclusions:

  • A children's drug utilisation index (cDUI) system is an effective tool for paediatric dosage evaluation.
  • Both cDUI and PDD/cDDD ratios should be utilized alongside traditional DDDs for comprehensive antibiotic utilization analysis in children.
Abstract

Keywords:
Antibacterial drugsDefined daily doseDrug utilisationPaediatric prescriptionPrescription daily dose

More Related Videos

Application of the Intelligent High-Throughput Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing/Phage Screening System and Lar Index of Antimicrobial Resistance09:59

Application of the Intelligent High-Throughput Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing/Phage Screening System and Lar Index of Antimicrobial Resistance

Published on: July 21, 2023

1.5K
A Robust Pneumonia Model in Immunocompetent Rodents to Evaluate Antibacterial Efficacy against S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa or A. baumannii09:17

A Robust Pneumonia Model in Immunocompetent Rodents to Evaluate Antibacterial Efficacy against S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa or A. baumannii

Published on: January 2, 2017

14.8K

Related Concept Videos

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion01:26

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Excretion

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...
33
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism01:24

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Metabolism

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...
34
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption01:23

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Overview and Drug Absorption

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...
28
Drug Dosing: Infants and Children01:29

Drug Dosing: Infants and Children

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...
41
Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution01:17

Pharmacokinetics in Pediatric Patients: Drug Distribution

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,...
34
Dosage Regimens: Partial Pharmacokinetic Parameters01:01

Dosage Regimens: Partial Pharmacokinetic Parameters

It is not uncommon for complete drug pharmacokinetic profiles to remain elusive in pharmacokinetics. This necessitates certain educated assumptions by pharmacokineticists to determine appropriate dosage regimens without comprehensive pharmacokinetic data from animal or human studies. One prevalent assumption is setting the bioavailability factor, denoted as F, to 1 or 100%. This assumption caters to the scenario where a drug doesn't achieve full systemic absorption, resulting in the patient...
23