Determining the prevalence and nature of oral formulation-related barriers to medicines administration in paediatric patients suffering from chronic conditions

[摘要] A systematic review identified limited studies exploring oral formulation-related barriers to medicines administration in children. Owing to the lack of licensed medicines suitable for use in children, manipulation is often required to deliver a specific dose or to facilitate medicines administration. Little is known regarding the prevalence and nature of issues encountered when administering medicines to children in the domiciliary setting. This study adopted a pragmatic approach to determine the nature and prevalence of oral formulation-related barriers to medicines administration in children suffering from a range of chronic conditions. Problems reported by healthcare professionals, patients and their parents/carers were identified to inform future pharmaceutical development and improve children’s medicines. Focus groups (n=4) were conducted with healthcare professionals in the West Midlands and semi-structured face-to-face interviews (n=278) were conducted with parents/carers/young people at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire. Questions explored barriers to medicines administration, refusal and manipulation. In total, 31% of interview respondents reported medicines refusal. Taste was the most commonly reported barrier to medicines administration. Almost one fifth (19%) of medicines administered to children were reported to require manipulation. Findings indicate that age-appropriate medicines are required to provide both suitable dose units and acceptable taste for paediatric patients.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine

[关键词] R Medicine;R Medicine (General)