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. 2023 May 8;10(5):848.
doi: 10.3390/children10050848.

Neonatal Drug Formularies-A Global Scope

Affiliations

Neonatal Drug Formularies-A Global Scope

Dotan Shaniv et al. Children (Basel). .

Abstract

Neonatal drug information (DI) is essential for safe and effective pharmacotherapy in (pre)term neonates. Such information is usually absent from drug labels, making formularies a crucial part of the neonatal clinician's toolbox. Several formularies exist worldwide, but they have never been fully mapped or compared for content, structure and workflow. The objective of this review was to identify neonatal formularies, explore (dis)similarities, and raise awareness of their existence. Neonatal formularies were identified through self-acquaintance, experts and structured search. A questionnaire was sent to all identified formularies to provide details on formulary function. An original extraction tool was employed to collect DI from the formularies on the 10 most commonly used drugs in pre(term) neonates. Eight different neonatal formularies were identified worldwide (Europe, USA, Australia-New Zealand, Middle East). Six responded to the questionnaire and were compared for structure and content. Each formulary has its own workflow, monograph template and style, and update routine. Focus on certain aspects of DI also varies, as well as the type of initiative and funding. Clinicians should be aware of the various formularies available and their differences in characteristics and content to use them properly for the benefit of their patients.

Keywords: drug database; drug formulary; drug information; neonatal; pediatric.

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Conflict of interest statement

K.A. and T.E.Y. serve as international collaborators at the Australasian Neonatal Medicines Formulary. K.A. and A.S. are members of the multidisciplinary editorial board of the Dutch Pediatric Formulary and its special expert group for neonatology. M.C. serves as Associate Director—Pediatric/Neonatal, Clinical Effectiveness, Lexicomp/UpToDate/Facts and Comparisons/Medi-Span/Emmi. N.C. serves as Deputy Chair of the Paediatric Formulary Committee of the BNF for Children. L.E. serves as Clinical Content Strategy leader for Merative Micromedex. P.S. serves as Editor in Chief for Merative Micromedex. S.A. has, since 2014, received Royalties from the sales of Neonatal Formulary. T.Z. is the Managing Director of the Dutch Pediatric Formulary. S.N.W. is the Medical Director of the Dutch Pediatric Formulary. S.B. is the Chair of the Australasian Neonatal Medicines Formulary (ANMF) group. D.S. declares no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Geographic pinpointing of contacted formularies/colleagues. Purple boxes indicate contacted formularies that responded; boxes in green indicate contacted formularies that did not respond; boxes in red indicate contacted colleagues where no formularies were found. ANMF = Australasian Neonatal Medicines Formulary, BNF for Children = British National Formulary for Children, DPF = Dutch Pediatric Formulary, NNF = Neonatal Formulary. (Image source: www.freeworldmaps.net, used with permission in agreement with source’s terms and conditions of use).

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