Paracetamol prescribing habits in a children's hospital.

Aim: Paracetamol is an analgesic/antipyretic widely used in children. The drug can cause hepatic and renal damage due to cumulative toxicity when used in excess of 90 mg/kg@day. There are no dosing guidelines for paracetamol use in children under 1 month of age. We wished to discern current paracetamol prescribing habits in order to establish safety of current practices and offer recommendations towards rational use.

Methods: An anonymous questionnaire was sent to all medical staff working in a university childrenís hospital. We sought information about paracetamol prescribing regimes for children 4 months and over, 3 months and under and neonates in the first 2 weeks of life. Pharmacists audited daily prescription charts of inpatients without hepatic or renal disease over a 2 month period. The maximum possible daily dose was calculated for each child and note was made if a dose in excess of 95 mg/kg was given.

Results: There were 53 respondents to the 80 questionnaires posted. There was a trend to use lower daily doses in the younger age group. Similarly, more practitioners either did not use or did not know safe dosing schedules in children 3 months and younger. During the 2 month period there were 823 prescriptions for children 4 months and over, 85 for infants 3 months and under and seven for under 2 week old neonates. In the children 4 months and over 25 of 140 prescriptions exceeding 95 mg/kg/day were given and two of six were given in infants 3 months and younger.

Conclusion: Many medical staff were unsure of current safe dosing regimens, particularly in the younger age groups. Seventeen percent of prescriptions were above 95 mg/kg/day although only 3% of children were given these doses due to on demand charting and due to audit by pharmacy and nursing staff. There are few guidelines for children 3 months and under. The literature suggests 60-65 mg/kg/day in infants 1-3 months, although this dose was only charted in 16% of prescriptions and phamacokinetic data favours a higher dose. In neonates 30 mg/kg/day achieves effective therapeutic concentrations but further studies are needed.