부산대학교 도서관

BackgroundThe disposition of orally prescribed drugs in critically ill children may be affected critical illness in in addition to age, resulting in erratic effects and safety. We aimed to study oral drug prescribing in the neonatal and pediatric intensive care unit (NICU and PICU).MethodsA one-year retrospective cohort study of all drug prescriptions, including route of administration for all children admitted to the NICU and PICU of the Erasmus MC-Sophia’s children’s hospital.Results1723 children with 2091 unique admissions received per admission (median [IQR]) 5 (3–10) drugs; 1 (0–2) orally and 3 (1–7) intravenously (IV). During mechanical ventilation 15% and 75% of drugs were given orally and IV, respectively. In non-ventilated patients, 27% of drugs were given orally and 60% IV. The 5 most frequently orally prescribed drugs were: vitamin K, spironolactone, oral probiotics, amphotericin B (prophylaxis) and trimethoprim.DiscussionCritically ill infants receive a considerable proportion of drugs orally. Considering that critical illness may significantly impact intestinal drug absorption, this may expose them to an increased risk of ineffective or unsafe drug therapy.Disclosure(s)Nothing to disclose