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Side effects of child medicines to be studied |
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Monday, 10 March 2008 |
A major study into the unwanted side-effects of child medicines is to be carried out in Scotland.
The study, which will focus on the unwanted effects of drugs given to
children with epilepsy, depression and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder (ADHD), is the first of its kind to evaluate a community
pharmacy system for monitoring adverse drug reactions associated with
paediatric medicines.
Over three million acute and 3.5 million repeat prescriptions for all
kinds of medical conditions are issued annually to 780,000 Scots
children aged 12 years or less. However, research suggests that between
12,000 and 88,000 of these children experience adverse drug reactions,
ranging from upset stomachs to suicide.
The study is being carried out by the University of Aberdeen in
collaboration with Robert Gordon University and YellowCard Centre,
Scotland’s Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring Centre.
Dr James McLay, a clinical pharmacologist and senior lecturer at the
University of Aberdeen who is leading the study, says that the systems
currently in place for picking up any unwanted side effects of
medicines are “less than ideal”, with many being missed.
“In Scotland around 200 adverse drug reactions are reported each year
but we know that that number actually runs into the thousands, so there
is a big shortfall. We want to develop a system that helps us to
identify the ones that are being missed and make sure they are picked
up early.”
He says the under-reporting is further complicated by the fact that,
depending on their age, children may be less able than adults to
explain the unwanted effects they are experiencing, or to link them to
the medicine.
“Someone who could tell us, however, is the parent. So we decided to
take adverse drug reporting into the community and target it at
parents.”
As part of the study, participating chemists will offer questionnaires
to parents and guardians when they request prescription medicine for
their child and ask them to feedback any adverse reactions their child
has experienced. McLay says he is hopeful that establishing this
working partnership with parents and pharmacists will provide a better
picture of the real level of the unwanted side effects of medicines in
children.
“Ultimately,” he said, “we hope our study will go some way to making overall medical care for children much safer.”
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