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Register‐based study showed that the age when children were prescribed antibiotic tablets and capsules instead of liquids increased from 2004 to 2016
Author(s) -
Bergene E H,
Nordeng H,
Rø T B,
Steinsbekk A
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.14550
Subject(s) - medicine , medical prescription , norwegian , pediatrics , antibiotics , age groups , demography , pharmacology , philosophy , linguistics , sociology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology
Aim We investigated the age when the prescriptions of oral antibiotic formulations for children from birth to 12 years of age changed from being mostly liquid to mostly solid and the associations between solid formulations and child, prescriber and medication characteristics. Methods This register‐based study comprised data from the Norwegian Prescription Database on oral antibiotics dispensed between 2004 and 2016 when both solid and liquid dosage forms were available in appropriate doses. Results Just over 1.2 million prescriptions were studied, and the age when children were prescribed oral solid antibiotics gradually increased. The mean age of conversion from liquids to solid formulations was 6.9 years and ranged from 5.7 years in 2004/2005 to 7.9 years in 2015/2016. Patient factors associated with solid dosage forms were the children's increasing age and male gender. Practitioner factors were the prescribers’ increasing age, male gender, being a general practitioner and issuing fewer than 23 paediatric antibiotic prescriptions per year. Medication factors were bad‐tasting liquids and the size and shape of solid dosage forms. Conclusion The age when children were prescribed antibiotic tablets and capsules increased from 2004 to 2016. The medicine characteristics were quite consistent, so this was probably caused by a shift in formulation preferences.