Children are not little adults!

“In the 21st Century, when there is a growing need for clinical excellence, the time has come for doctors to be armed with the confidence of evidence-based guidelines. Children are not merely little adults.”

Professor James McElnay

The situation

When a medicine is launched, the extensive set of trials to determine it is safe to use and the doses are correct, are carried out on adults.

Many medicines currently prescribed for children do not have a dosage approved by the Medicines Control Agency, so doctors are forced to rely solely on their knowledge or anecdotal evidence when prescribing, rather than basing such decisions on evidence-based guidelines.

Action Medical Research Studies

A solution to the problem has been explored by an Action Medical Research team – a collaboration between The School of Pharmacy, Queen’s University Belfast, The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children and the Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool.

The study was designed to gain a better understanding of medicines which are commonly prescribed to hospitalised children, but which are unlicensed or untested for these young patients.

Campaign Objectives

The campaign aims to raise awareness among parents and the media. It also highlights to relevant bodies, including the Government and the pharmaceutical industry, that the charity is taking important steps forward in addressing the concerns.

Action

The campaign was originally launched at a press conference at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. Action Medical Research gained widespread support for the campaign, from the Consumers’ Association, MPs, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, other researchers, and a father whose nine-year-old daughter had died from poor dosing.

Action Medical Research went on to host a workshop with the Health Coalition Initiative, at which the Government’s newly-appointed Children’s Tsar Professor Aynsley-Green made a presentation. A report, ‘Paediatric prescribing’ (PDF, 117 kB), was published which you can download.

Result

The research study came to a close in August 2002. Since then Action Medical Research has continued to campaign for better testing of drugs for children and for improved prescribing guidelines. The Charity believes significant progress has been made with the launch of the British National Formulary for Children in September 2005.

The formulary, or prescription guide is compiled by the British Medical Association (BMA), the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group, and the government has committed £1.8m to fund the project.

175,000 copies will be provided free to doctors who currently only receive comprehensive advice on prescription medicine usage for adults.