Medication use and potential drug interactions in pediatric patients with infectious diseases.
Infectious diseases are the most common type of illness in pediatric patients. Limited data are available, however, about the most frequently prescribed drugs for children in pediatric infectious diseases units. The authors prospectively evaluated medication records of 493 children over a 5-month period to determine the pattern of drug prescribing and incidence of potential drug interactions in children admitted to the infectious diseases unit in a pediatric hospital. Antimicrobial agents were the most frequently prescribed class of drugs, comprising 60% of all drug orders. Of all antibiotics used during this period, ampicillin was the most common (24% of antibiotic orders). Ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, and gentamicin were also used frequently and consisted of 15%, 10%, and 14% of all orders for anti-infective agents, respectively. Other classes of drugs frequently given to patients on the infectious disease unit were antipyretics (14%), bronchodilators (10%), and anticonvulsants (7%). The incidence of potential drug interactions was 3.5%, the majority involving anticonvulsants. A clinically significant drug interaction was not documented in any of these cases. Observations made from this study may assist in developing clinical pharmacy services and educational programs for pharmacy students. In addition, knowledge of drug use patterns may aid in conducting antibiotic use reviews.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005260:Female; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric; D006782:Hospitals, Special; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009820:Ohio; D011446:Prospective Studies