[Osmolality of oral liquid dosage forms to be administered to newborns in a hospital].
OBJECTIVE
Oral administration of hypertonic solutions can contribute to intestinal damage in the initial stages of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis. The purpose of this study is to determine the osmolality of oral liquid dosage forms used in a division of neonatology and to establish some recommendations for their dilution.


METHODS
The osmolality of 26 oral liquid dosage forms has been measured using the freezing-point depression method.


RESULTS
Oral liquid dosage forms used in the division of neonatology present an osmolality greater than 350 mOsm/kg H2O. 19.2% of all the analysed forms presented an osmolality lower than 1500 mOsm/kg H2O, 80.7% were over that figure, while 23% presented an extremely high osmolality (> 5,000 mOsm/kg H2O).


CONCLUSIONS
Knowledge of osmolality of oral liquid dosage forms in the division of neonatology enables the risk of intestinal aggression caused by enteral administration of the medication to be assessed.
Servicio de Farmacia, Area Materno-infantil, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain. mjcabana@vhebron.net
A
A
Fernández Polo
M J
MJ
Cabañas Poy
S
S
Clemente Bautista
M
M
Oliveras Arenas
F
F
Castillo Salinas
E
E
Hidalgo Albert
D000284:Administration, Oral; D004358:Drug Therapy; D020345:Enterocolitis, Necrotizing / Q000188:drug therapy; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D009994:Osmolar Concentration