Document Detail


Food and Drug Administration approval for medications used in the pediatric intensive care unit: A continuing conundrum.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  21057369     Owner:  NLM     Status:  In-Data-Review    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
OBJECTIVES: : Many drugs used in the pediatric intensive care unit are administered "off label," i.e., they have been neither thoroughly tested for efficacy and safety nor approved for use in children. The U.S. Congress has enacted legislation to promote standards and requirements for Food and Drug Administration labeling for drugs used in pediatrics. Nevertheless, we hypothesized that most medications used in our pediatric intensive care unit were not Food and Drug Administration approved for use in pediatric patients.
DESIGN: : A list of medications dispensed in the pediatric intensive care unit from January through February 2008 was obtained from our pharmacy database. We then determined whether each medication had been granted Food and Drug Administration approval for use in children. Medications were divided into the following categories: not approved for use in any pediatric age group, approved for use in limited age groups only, and approved for use in all pediatric age groups.
SETTING: : A pediatric intensive care unit at a tertiary care hospital with 26 beds and 1,500 admissions per year.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: : In the 2-month period, 248 different medications were dispensed with a total of 49,707 medication orders. Sixty (24.2%) of the medications dispensed were not Food and Drug Administration approved for use in any pediatric age group, 106 (42.7%) were approved for use in limited age groups, and 82 (33%) were approved for use in all pediatric age groups. Eleven of the 25 most frequently dispensed medications were approved for use in limited age groups, but none of them was used for the indication or age group for which they were approved.
CONCLUSIONS: : Despite the efforts of Congress, 67% of medications prescribed and administered in the pediatric intensive care unit did not have Food and Drug Administration approval or had only limited approval, underscoring the need for the medical community to demand oversight and research to improve drug labeling for our patient population.
Authors:
Chris P Yang; Michael A Veltri; Blair Anton; Myron Yaster; Ivor D Berkowitz
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Pediatric critical care medicine : a journal of the Society of Critical Care Medicine and the World Federation of Pediatric Intensive and Critical Care Societies     Volume:  12     ISSN:  1529-7535     ISO Abbreviation:  Pediatr Crit Care Med     Publication Date:  2011 Sep 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2011-09-08     Completed Date:  -     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100954653     Medline TA:  Pediatr Crit Care Med     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  e195-9     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
From the Departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine (CPY, MY, IDB) and Pediatrics (IDB), and Welch Medical Library (BA), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD; and Johns Hopkins Children's Center (CPY, MAV, MY, IDB), Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD.
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