Patterns of drug prescribing for children in hospital

Abstract

The drugs prescribed for children in Tayside hospitals in 1974 and 1975 were surveyed using the computer files of over 4000 children in each year. The results were compared with similar data on adult patients. Although similar proportions of both age groups received drugs, less than 3 drugs were prescribed for the great majority of the children (mean 2.5) compared with twice that number for adults. Seven classes of drugs accounted for almost four-fifths of the drugs prescribed for children but the same classes formed two-fifths only of the total drug use in adults. There was significantly greater use of antihistamine/sedative, anticonvulsant and decongestant/mucolytic drugs in children than in adults while the reverse was true for diuretics, KCl, cardioactive agents, sedatives/hypnotics, and tranquillisers. Antimicrobial drugs accounted for approximately one-third of the total drugs used in children and one half of all patients received at least one drug from this class. Penicillin preparations alone accounted for 65.1 per cent of all antimicrobial drug use. The percentage of children given ampicillin fell by almost half from 1974 to 1975 with a corresponding increase in the proportion receiving amoxycillin.