Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov 25;21(1):1273.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-07300-8.

Analysis of the potential inappropriate use of medications in pediatric outpatients in China

Jing Cui  1 , Lei Zhao  1 , Xianghong Liu  1 , Mengyujie Liu  1 , Lihong Zhong  2
Affiliations

Analysis of the potential inappropriate use of medications in pediatric outpatients in China

Jing Cui et al. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: The appropriate use of medications is essential in children. Yet, detailed information on how drugs are being prescribed and dispensed to pediatric populations is not documented in China.

Aim: The study objective was to analyze the details of medicine use and categorize the types of inappropriate use of medications on children.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted on the prescriptions of pediatric outpatients aged < 18 years from 2019 to 2020 at a major Chinese tertiary academic center. Each age group's demographic and clinical characteristics were collected, and the ratios of inappropriate prescriptions were analyzed.

Results: The total number of pediatric outpatients was 652,152, and 49.37% (322000) were prescribed medications, in which the most widely used medicines were respiratory, anti-infectives, and Traditional Chinese Medicines (TCMs). The prevalence rate of inappropriate prescriptions reached 20.49%, and in 2019 it was higher (21.71%) than that in 2020 (18.36%). The top three common inappropriate categories were indication-related off-label drug use, improper administration frequency, and overdosing, accounting for 67.93, 17.80 and 11.06% of all inappropriate prescriptions, respectively. The inappropriate prescriptions were more likely seen in patients aged 2-5 years and respiratory medicines.

Conclusions: The study findings indicate that inappropriate drug use in pediatric outpatients is still common, and great attention needs to be paid. More prospective trials are required to identify the effectiveness, safety, and necessity of off-label drug use of medicines in children.

Keywords: Drug utilization; Inappropriate medicine use; Outpatient; Pediatric; Prescription.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of medicine use according to age group. AIA: antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents, ATM: alimentary tract and metabolism, BLD: blood and blood-forming organs, CI: confidence interval, CVS: cardiovascular system, DRM: dermatologicals, GEN: genitourinary system and sex hormones, HRM: systemic hormonal preparations excluding sex hormones and insulins, INF: anti-infectives for systemic use, MSK: musculoskeletal system, NRV: nervous system, RES: respiratory system, SNS: sensory organs, TCM: traditional Chinese medicine
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. National Bureau of Statistics. Main Data Bulletin of the Seventh National Population Census. 2010 .http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/zxfb/202105/t20210510_1817181.html. Accessed 3 June 2021.
    1. Wang XL, Cao LJ, Liang YG. Establishing risk management system and insurance system for pediatric drugs in China. China Food Drug Administration Magazine. 2021;1:28–34.
    1. Xu XW, Wang YM, Li DK. Exploration of rational drug use in pediatrics. Chin J Clin Pharm. 2001;10(2):125–128.
    1. Mehndiratta S. Strategies to reduce medication errors in pediatric ambulatory settings. J Postgrad Med. 2012;58(1):47. doi: 10.4103/0022-3859.93252. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Berthe-Aucejo A, Nguyen PKH, Angoulvant F, Bellettre X, Albaret P, Weil T, et al. Retrospective study of irrational prescribing in French paediatric hospital: prevalence of inappropriate prescription detected by pediatrics: omission of prescription and inappropriate prescription (POPI) in the emergency unit and in the ambulatory setting. BMJ Open. 2019;9(3):e019186. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-019186. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Substances