title: Essential medicines lists for children of WHO, India, South Africa, and EML of China: A comparative study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Comparing the essential medicine lists for children and China national essential medicine list 2012, to provide the evidence for establishing essential medicine list for children in China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Search the official websites of WHO and some other countries' ministry of health to get essential medicine lists for children (EMLc) that have already established. Compare the situation of updating, the number and classification of medicines, and the dosage forms in essential medicine lists for children and China national essential medicine list 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By December 2013, the WHO, India, and South Africa have established EMLc. The list of China was for people in all ages, so the number of medicines ranked first in four lists. WHO, India, and China classified the medicines by pharmacologic action, South Africa classified by ATC classification. Except for WHO, India, South Africa, and China did not have specific medicines for neonatal care or medicines for diseases of joints. The main administration routes in these four lists were oral administration, injection, and topical application. There were medicine restrictions in lists of WHO and India, but there were no medicine restrictions in the lists of South Africa and China.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Compared with EMLs for children, the 2012 National Essential Medicine List for China is not suitable for children in China. Development of Chinese EMLc should be based on the burden of diseases for children, and should select applicable dosage forms and specifications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Centre, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.|Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China.|West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Sichuan Essential Medicines Procurement Service Center, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Centre, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.|Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Ling-Li
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Chinese Cochrane Centre and Chinese Evidence-Based Medicine Centre, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: You-Ping
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Centre, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.|Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Li-Nan
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Centre, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.|Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Chuan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy/Evidence-Based Pharmacy Centre, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.|Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China.|West China School of Pharmacy, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
authors.forename: Ge
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gui
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002681:China; D004304:Dosage Forms; D018954:Drugs, Essential / Q000191:economics; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D013019:South Africa; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D004304:Dosage Forms; D018954:Drugs, Essential
keywords: China; children; comparison study; essential medicine list; evidence-based constructing; methodology