Structural Analysis and Assessment of the Rationality of Prescribing Drugs in Pediatric Practice

Abstract

This article discusses the problems of providing drug care to children. The aim of the work was to identify the prerequisites for the creation of a Russian indicative list of medicines for children based on the assessment of rationality and structural analysis of drug prescriptions in pediatric practice. The study used the methods of content analysis, statistical analysis, graphical method. The sample consisted of 2,900 prescriptions for drugs and other pharmacy products made by doctors of various profiles to children aged 0 to 17 years. The study showed that 92% were medicines (MP), the rest - other pharmacy products (biologically active additives, cosmetics, medical products, etc.). An analysis was also carried out by the frequency of prescriptions, by dosage forms, by anatomical-therapeutic-chemical (ATC) classification and by prescriptions outside the instructions (off-label, in our study, we attributed to off-label those cases when drugs were prescribed to children aged , not officially permitted in the instructions for medical use). Nurofen for children (Ibuprofen) oral suspension was the most frequently prescribed medication in the study sample. When analyzing according to the first level of the ATC classification, the largest percentage of prescriptions fell on group R - "Respiratory system". From the sample studied by us, most often children were prescribed drugs in liquid dosage forms, namely, drops for oral administration, in off-label prescriptions, for the most part, solid dosage forms (tablets) were found. It was found that in most cases drugs were prescribed outside the instructions for children aged 1 to 3 years - 39% of all off-label prescriptions. In our opinion, to improve the pharmaceutical care provided to children, it is necessary to create a Russian indicative list of essential medicines for children, which should be periodically reviewed and republished in order to contain only relevant and reliable information.