Children pose unique challenges to the medication use system. For example, almost all pediatric drug doses must be calculated. Clinicians care for the tiniest premature babies, toddlers, school age children, teenagers, and sometimes even adults in the pediatric inpatient setting. Pharmacists must often dilute stock solutions or divide pills.
Young children are less able to communicate side effects.
Finally, all children, but most particularly young, small, sick children, are less able to physiologically tolerate a medication error. The study used data collected at Children's Hospital Boston and MassGeneral Hospital for Children from medical and surgical units, pediatric intensive care units, and a neonatal intensive care unit. And of those that did indeed reach patients during the study period, none were life threatening. Nevertheless, an important next step, which we are presently undertaking at Children's and the MGH, is an effort to reduce the numbers of serious medication errors using a system-based approach. Also important are further studies to better document the extent and severity of the problem, particularly in community-based hospitals were most children receive inpatient care.