title: Improving drug safety monitoring.
abstract: Drug safety monitoring is important in children. Young age, polypharmacy, prolonged hospitaliza-tion, being critically ill and use of unlicensed and off-label drugs have been identified as risk factors which predispose a child to experience an adverse drug reaction. In our country, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, setting up of intensive care units, increasing availability of imaging studies, and the introduction of several new drugs and vaccines have accentuated the need for improving drug safety monitoring in children. To achieve this aim, establishing in-hospital computerized event monitoring program in major hospitals and an effective national post- marketing drug surveillance network are the need of the hour.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College and General Hospital, Sion, Mumbai 400022, India.
authors.forename: Sunil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karande
authors.forename: Nithya J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Gogtay
authors.forename: Nilima A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Kshirsagar
mesh_terms: D016907:Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting Systems / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003906:Developing Countries; D004348:Drug Labeling / Q000592:standards*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D004363:Drug Utilization; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011358:Product Surveillance, Postmarketing; D017749:Total Quality Management