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Paediatric polypharmacy and deprescribing: the views of UK healthcare professionals
  1. James G Moss1,2,
  2. Daniel Young3,
  3. Asia N Rashed4,5,
  4. Lauren E Walker6,7,
  5. Daniel B Hawcutt1,2
  1. 1 NIHR Clinical Research Facility, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
  2. 2 Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Institute of Life Course and Medical Studies, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
  3. 3 Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
  4. 4 Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London, London, UK
  5. 5 Pharmacy Department, Evelina London Children's Hospital, London, UK
  6. 6 Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
  7. 7 Clinical Pharmacology, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr James G Moss, NIHR Clinical Research Facility, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, L12 2AP, UK; jamesmoss{at}nhs.net

http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2022-323827

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    Polypharmacy can affect children as well as adults. Although the definition is different, >5 medicines for adults and ≥2 medicines for children, the consequences of inappropriate polypharmacy remain, with increased adverse drug reactions and hospitalisations and potential for drug–drug interactions.1–4 Here we report the results of a survey of healthcare professionals (HCP) towards paediatric polypharmacy working in the UK.

    A cross-sectional survey was undertaken over 1 month (November to December 2020). It was designed using Microsoft Forms and consisted of 12 questions: a mixture of multiple-choice, free text and five-point Likert scale questions. The survey was accessed via a weblink and promoted via email, Twitter, the General and Adolescent Paediatric Research Collaborative UK and Ireland network and the Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacists Group. Participants were asked to complete the survey if they were an HCP with a role in caring for children. They were also asked to forward the link …

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors JGM, DBH, LEW and DY conceived and designed the survey. JGM and DBH distributed the survey. JGM collected the responses. The data were analysed and interpreted by JGM and DY. The manuscript was written by JGM. ANR, LEW and DBH critically reviewed and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version.

    • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

    • Supplemental material This content has been supplied by the author(s). It has not been vetted by BMJ Publishing Group Limited (BMJ) and may not have been peer-reviewed. Any opinions or recommendations discussed are solely those of the author(s) and are not endorsed by BMJ. BMJ disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on the content. Where the content includes any translated material, BMJ does not warrant the accuracy and reliability of the translations (including but not limited to local regulations, clinical guidelines, terminology, drug names and drug dosages), and is not responsible for any error and/or omissions arising from translation and adaptation or otherwise.