Analysis of Drug Use Reviews in Pediatirc Inpatients

소아입원환자에서의 약물사용 평가

This study was intended to contribute towards the development of proper drug use system for pediatric patients by investigationg problems related to their medication and identifying drugs that need to be developed into low dosage tab-lets or syrups for pediatric use based on our analysis on the prescriptions for pediatric inpatients from 22 hospitals in South Korea on a day of Feb. 2003. The usage rates in the proportion of less than 0.5 and 1 per unit of oral solid formulation were $29.9{\%}$ and $54.3{\%}$ in hospitals with 1000 beds or more, 36.5 and $60.6{\%}$ in hospitals with 500 to less than 1000 beds, $60.8{\%}$ and $81.6{\%}$ in hospitals with less than 500 beds. Of the 63 oral solid formulation products that were used two or more times in the proportion oi less than 0.5 units, 34 products ($54.0{\%}$) were used as such despite the fact that syrups and lower dosage tablets or capsules were available in the market, and 24 products ($38.1{\%}$) so even when syrup formulations were available. Therefore, it would be desirable that pharmacist communities in charge of dispensing identify the most frequently crushed drugs or those that require special attention in choosing dispensing powders or solutions and develop dispensing guidelines that can be adopted by pharmacists in practice. Moreover government-led policies are needed to encourage development and manufacture of the formulations for pediatrics and to correct unsound prescription and dispensing practices such as using crushed forms of certain oral solid formulations although alternative formulations are available in the market.