Administration of Medicines to Children
Introduction
Giving medicines to infants and children can be challenging because they may refuse to take medications for many reasons, such as fear, taste, embarrassment or inconvenience.
Choosing the Right Formulation
When selecting medicines for children, it is important to consider factors such as
- Child's age
- Swallowing ability
- Ease of administration
- Accessibility of suitable formulations of the product
Often, oral liquids are the preferred formulation for younger children as they are easier to swallow and allow for flexible dosing based on the child's age and weight.
- Multiple formulations of the same active ingredient are available and may contribute to dosing errors, such as paracetamol 120 mg/ml and 250 mg/ml suspension.
Common Recommendations and Precautions
Medicines should almost never be added to an infant's feeding bottle or added to large quantities of food (exception: pancreatin).
- If the child does not consume the entire bottle or all the food, then an unknown proportion of the dose may have been taken.
Medication Compliance
Few key factors affecting paediatric patient on medication compliance include:
- Medication itself, e.g. Taste?
- Dosage regimen, e.g. Dosing around school time? Dosing frequency?
- Illness being treated
- Patient and caretaker - Sense of urgency?
The KIDs List
Similar to Beers Criteria for older patients, Key Potentially Inappropriate Drugs in Pediatrics (KIDs) List is an evidence-based reference aimed at improving medication safety in children.
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