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Dangers of Pediatric Drug Dosing

While there is substantial (yet often times inconclusive or inadequate) testing of medications performed on adult populations, the same, unfortunately, is not true for the pediatric population.

Even when it comes to the most common medications for infants and young children, there is a “one size fits all” mentality, with little regard to other physiological factors that might affect the dosing that might be unique to different cases.

Up until recently, many drugs had only been tested on adults because it was thought, and even expected that, if prescribed to children, the drugs would perform in a similar fashion. Yet many of these drugs carried the label, ''Safety and effectiveness in pediatric patients have not been established.'' Why? Because many drug companies previously found this type of research to be overly redundant, costly and well…burdensome!

While government intervention and regulation has mandated more carefully controlled pediatric drug trials, infants and young children still have an increased risk of drug errors due to their ongoing physiological development, the practice of weight-based dosing, a lack of drug dosage concentrations for many products (i.e., liquid or chewable forms of medications) and still, a lack of pediatric testing outcomes and government-approved labeling for many drugs.

Many health care providers rely on weight or age-based dosing or other forms of calculated pediatric dosage recommendations, such as liquefying adult-approved pills or cutting them in half. Unfortunately, infants and small children have little or no means to communicate any drug side effects that are not obvious to the prescribing doctor.

Some hospitals and research groups have come up with specific recommendations to reduce pediatric dosing errors, such as computer medication order entry, spelling out drug names and dosage units instead of using abbreviations, and being especially vigilant in identifying and taking into consideration patient allergies.

While drug dosing is certainly a cause for concern with pediatric patients, one of the best ways to keep your child’s body functioning well is through regular chiropractic examinations and adjustments. It’s the ideal “dosage” every time. Many parents have found their children respond well to chiropractic care, have fewer illnesses, and therefore, are subjected to even fewer medication dosing errors!