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. 2018 Sep 25;13(9):e0204427.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204427. eCollection 2018.

Use of off-label and unlicensed medicines in neonatal intensive care

Haline Tereza Matias de Lima Costa  1 , Tatiana Xavier Costa  2 , Rand Randall Martins  3 , Antônio Gouveia Oliveira  3
Affiliations

Use of off-label and unlicensed medicines in neonatal intensive care

Haline Tereza Matias de Lima Costa et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the use of off-label and unlicensed medicines in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a teaching maternity hospital specialized in high risk pregnancy.

Methods: A prospective cohort study was conducted between August 2015 and July 2016. All newborns admitted to the NICU who had at least one medication prescribed and a hospital stay longer than 24 hours were included. The classification of off-label and unlicensed drugs for the neonatal population was done according to the information of Food and Drug Administration.

Results: A total of 17421 medication items were analyzed in 3935 prescriptions of 220 newborns. The proportion of newborns exposed to off-label drugs was 96.4%, and to unlicensed medicines was 66.8%. About one-half (49.3%) of the medication items were off-label and 24.6% were unlicensed. The main reason for off-label and unlicensed classification was, respectively, frequency of administration and the administration of adaptations of pharmaceutical forms.

Conclusions: Although there are actions to encourage the development of pharmacological studies with neonates, this study observed a high rate of prescription and exposure of newborns to off-label and unlicensed drugs in NICUs and pointed out areas of neonatal therapy that require scientific investment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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