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
Review
. 2022 Dec;45(6):188-192.
doi: 10.18773/austprescr.2022.067. Epub 2022 Nov 30.

Administration of medicines to children: a practical guide

Lucinda Smith  1 , Catherine Leggett  1 , Corey Borg  1
Affiliations
Review

Administration of medicines to children: a practical guide

Lucinda Smith et al. Aust Prescr. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Getting children to take medicines can be difficult. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' approach. When selecting medicines for children, it is important to consider the child's age, swallowing ability, ease of administration and accessibility of the product. Ask the child, parent or caregiver about their preference for formulations and flavours. There are different ways to alter the taste, aftertaste and mouth feel of medicines, which may help improve palatability. Pharmacists or medicines information services can assist with advice on suitable formulations or methods of administration.

Keywords: drug formulation; oral administration; paediatrics; palatability; patient safety; taste.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Acknowledgements: Sean Turner (Director of Pharmacy), David Ellis (Senior specialist pharmacist (Manufacturing and Psychiatry)) and Lynn Costi (Senior pharmacist, Medicines Information Service), SA Pharmacy, Women’s and Children’s Hospital Campus, SA Health. Conflicts of interest: none declared

Figures

Fig
Fig
Suggestions for administering medicines to children
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Schirm E, Tobi H, de Vries TW, Choonara I, De Jong-van den Berg LT. Lack of appropriate formulations of medicines for children in the community. Acta Paediatr 2003;92:1486-9. 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2003.tb00837.x - DOI - PubMed
    1. Nunn T, Williams J. Formulation of medicines for children. Br J Clin Pharmacol 2005;59:674-6. 10.1111/j.1365-2125.2005.02410.x - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bauters T, Claus B, Willems E, De Porre J, Verlooy J, Benoit Y, et al. What’s in a drop? Optimizing strategies for administration of drugs in pediatrics. Int J Clin Pharm 2012;34:679-81. 10.1007/s11096-012-9670-y - DOI - PubMed
    1. Yin HS, Dreyer BP, van Schaick L, Foltin GL, Dinglas C, Mendelsohn AL. Randomized controlled trial of a pictogram-based intervention to reduce liquid medication dosing errors and improve adherence among caregivers of young children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2008;162:814-22. 10.1001/archpedi.162.9.814 - DOI - PubMed
    1. van Riet-Nales DA, Schobben AF, Vromans H, Egberts TC, Rademaker CM. Safe and effective pharmacotherapy in infants and preschool children: importance of formulation aspects. Arch Dis Child 2016;101:662-9. 10.1136/archdischild-2015-308227 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources