title: Medicine use in children: a critical area.
abstract: Children are particularly a challenging group of patients when trying to ensure the safe use of medicines. Their variable weight, body surface area and organ system maturity affect their ability to metabolize and excrete medications. In addition, there are few standardized dosing regimens for children, with most medication dosing requiring body weight calculations. These challenges in pediatric medication use contribute to an increased risk of medication errors including serious drug dosing errors. This manuscript addresses the pediatric dentists to focus on the issues related to pediatric medication.
authors.affiliation: Dept of Pedodontics, M. R. Ambedkar Dental College, Cooke Town, Bangalore-560005, Karnataka, India. Sangs_paedo@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Sangeetha P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Venkatesh
mesh_terms: D001830:Body Surface Area; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D004304:Dosage Forms; D054796:Drug Dosage Calculations; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D006801:Humans; D008508:Medication Errors / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000378:metabolism; D012449:Safety
chemical_list: D004304:Dosage Forms; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations