Many drugs for children are tested only on adults

Dr. Daniel Benjamin
(Photo: chiffonews.com)

A large-scale study found that 80% of children hospitalized in the US are given drugs that are only tested and licensed for adults. This often makes pediatricians have a very dangerous assumption that if a drug works on an adult it is also safe for children.

Duke University doctor Daniel Benjamin said that when parents trust their sick children to hospital staff, most of them don't know this unpleasant incident.'Most of the time when we treat children, we do not know if we have given the right medicine, how safe it is and how much the correct dose is.' Dr. Benjamin said that every time he prescribes medication to a child, he thinks about these things. 'Usually I worry and ask myself: Does this medicine cause more disadvantages for the child? Does this medicine cause more harm to the child than the disease itself? '

A study by Philadelphia Children's Hospital concluded that nearly 4 out of 5 babies admitted to the US were given medication only on adults.

Dr. Dr. Samir Shah, the lead author of the study, said that although the study only looked at prescription drugs in hospitals, it was the case outside the hospital: Children were given similar drugs. like adults.

Dr. Dr. Peter Adamson, another pediatrician at Philadelphia Children's Hospital, notes that children and adults may have completely different reactions to drugs. 'All changes in muscle, bone, water, protein and fat can affect what happens to a drug.'

This study also demonstrates that the consequences of such medication may be serious or even fatal. Usually, doctors have no choice but to prescribe such drugs, especially for children who are seriously ill.

The US Food and Drug Administration has taken measures to encourage pharmaceutical companies to increase the number of drugs tested on children. The authors of the study on children called for even more information to be collected about commonly prescribed drugs that have not been tested on children.

Hong Linh