Investigation of the prescriptions of outpatient/emergency oral iron supplements in 8 children’s/maternity and children’s hospitals of third-grade class A
- VernacularTitle:8家“三甲”儿童/妇幼医院门急诊口服铁剂处方调研
- Author:
Rongrong LI
1
;
Qian LIU
1
;
Tingyu WANG
1
;
Yanyan SUN
1
Author Information
1. Dept. of Pharmacy，Tianjin Children’s Hospital/Tianjin University Children’s Hospital，Tianjin 300134，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
oral iron supplements;
children;
off-label drug use;
prescription analysis
- From:
China Pharmacy
2022;33(23):2831-2834
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE To investigate clinical situation and problems of oral iron supplements in pediatrics department of China， and to provide reference for rational application of oral iron supplements in children. METHODS Through surveying the prescriptions of outpatient/emergency oral iron supplements （pediatric patients） in 8 children’s/maternity and children’s hospitals of third-grade class A from six administrative regions of China， the information of the prescriptions was analyzed statistically in terms of general information of children， the types of oral iron supplements， drug combination， clinical diagnosis， off-label drug use. RESULTS A total of 20 988 outpatient/emergency prescriptions were investigated， involving 12 kinds of oral iron supplements. Among them， the third generation of oral iron supplements ranked first（14 038 prescriptions，66.89%）， and the dosage form was mainly oral solution. Children aged 1-＜3 years old accounted for the largest proportion（8 532 prescriptions，40.65%）. Most of the drugs prescribed in combination with oral iron supplements were vitamins（5 577 prescriptions，26.57%）. More than half of the prescriptions（11 210 prescriptions，53.41%） were for diseases or symptoms other than iron deficiency/iron deficiency anemia. There were a total of 13 615 prescriptions（64.87%） of off-label drug use， mainly manifesting as super-indications （10 923 prescriptions， 52.04%） and super-usage and dosage（6 393 prescriptions，30.46%）. There were 163 prescriptions beyond contraindications （0.78%）. CONCLUSIONS The varieties and dosage forms of oral iron supplements in pediatrics are comparatively reasonable in children’s/ maternity and children’s hospitals of third-grade class A in China，but the problem of off-label drug use still needs to be solved. The relevant departments and medical institutions should pay attention and take measures to promote the rational use of oral iron supplements in pediatrics.
