title: Pediatric drug therapy in the emergency department: does it meet FDA-approved prescribing guidelines?
abstract: To determine how often Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved age-specific prescribing guidelines were followed in pediatric emergency department (ED) patients, the charts for all children presenting to a university hospital pediatric ED during a 30-day period were reviewed. Of the 359 children who received drug therapy in the ED, 43% received one or more drugs not approved for use at the patients' respective ages. Of 296 children discharged with one or more prescriptions, 16% received a drug prescribed outside of FDA-approved guidelines based on age criteria. Overall, 34% of children who received drug therapy in the ED or by prescription did not meet age-specific FDA-approved prescribing guidelines. The medications most commonly given outside FDA-approved guidelines were bronchodilators, benzodiazepines, and narcotic analgesics. Drug therapy in pediatric ED patients often falls outside FDA-approved prescribing guidelines.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232-4700, USA.
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: McKinzie
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: K D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Wrenn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004363:Drug Utilization / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017723:Drug Utilization Review; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008485:Medical Audit; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000592:standards*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013714:Tennessee; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration