Value of a web-based pediatric drug information system to prevent serious adverse drug reactions in child and adolescent psychiatry.

Psychotropic drugs are frequently prescribed 'off-label' to children and adolescents and carry the risk of serious adverse drug reactions (sADR). We examined the frequency of sADRs of psychotropic drugs in pediatric inpatients and explored their potential preventability through following the recommendations of a web-based pediatric drug information system (PDIS). The potential socio-economic impacts of using this online system is also addressed. Routine clinical data from all inpatients treated in a child and adolescent psychiatry department between January 2017 and December 2018 were retrospectively examined for the occurrence of sADRs as defined by the European Medicines Agency. The preventability of the sADRs was assessed based on the information of the PDIS. Furthermore, the expected prolongation of the hospital stay due to sADRs was calculated as well as the associated treatment costs. The study was supported by the Innovation Fund of the Joint Federal Committee, grant number 01NVF16021. In total, 1036 patients were screened of whom 658 (63.5%) received psychopharmacological treatment. In 53 (8.1%) of these patients 54 sADRs were documented, of which 37 sADRs were identified as potentially preventable through PDIS. Mitigating sADR through PDIS would likely have prevented prolonged hospital stays and conferred considerable savings for health insurance companies. PDIS provides systematic and evidence-based information about pediatric psychopharmacotherapy and helps to prevent prescribing errors. Therefore, PDIS is a useful tool to increase drug therapy safety in child and adolescent psychiatry. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm the results.

Serious Adverse Drug Reactions to Antipsychotics in Minors with Multiple Disabilities: Preventability and Potential Cost Savings by Therapeutic Drug Monitoring.

INTRODUCTION: Children and adolescents with multiple disabilities and mental disorders (CAMD) are frequently treated with antipsychotic drugs. However, CAMD are particularly susceptible to serious adverse drug reactions (sADRs). This retrospective study examined the frequency of sADRs to antipsychotics in CAMD. Further, the potential preventability of these sADRs through therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) and the potential socio-economic benefits of TDM were explored. METHODS: Routine clinical data of all patients treated at a specialized psychiatric clinic for CAMD between January 2017 and December 2018 were retrospectively examined. Data on the occurrence of sADRs (definition according to the European Medicines Agency), their causality with antipsychotics, as well as their preventability (Schumock criteria) were extracted from patient files. The prolongation of the hospital stay due to sADRs was calculated, and the cost savings were estimated if TDM had been applied. The data were based on a subsample of the KiDSafe project, supported by the Innovation Fund of the Joint Federal Committee, grant number 01NVF16021. RESULTS: One hundred two CAMD who were administered at least one antipsychotic drug during inpatient treatment were identified. Of these patients, 22 (21.6%) sADRs with a possible causal relationship with the antipsychotic treatment were documented. Eleven sADRs (50%) could potentially have been prevented through TDM. Mitigating sADRs through TDM likely would have prevented prolonged hospital stays and thus conferred considerable savings for health insurance companies. DISCUSSION: The routine implementation of TDM is urgently recommended for antipsychotic treatment in CAMD to increase drug therapy safety.

Transfontanellar Contrast-enhanced US for Intraoperative Imaging of Cerebral Perfusion during Neonatal Arterial Switch Operation.

Background Brain injury and subsequent neurodevelopmental disorders are major determinants for later-life outcomes in neonates with transposition of the great arteries (TGA). Purpose To quantitatively assess cerebral perfusion in neonates with TGA undergoing arterial switch operation (ASO) using transfontanellar contrast-enhanced US (T-CEUS). Materials and Methods In a prospective single-center cross-sectional diagnostic study, neonates with TGA scheduled for ASO were recruited from February 2018 to February 2020. Measurements were performed at five time points before, during, and after surgery (T1-T5), and 11 perfusion parameters were derived per cerebral hemisphere. Neonate clinical characteristics, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, central venous pressure, near-infrared spectroscopy, blood gas analyses, ventilation time, time spent in the pediatric intensive care unit, and time in hospital were correlated with imaging parameters. Analysis of variance or a mixed-effects model were used for groupwise comparisons. Results A total of 12 neonates (mean gestational age, 39 6/7 weeks ± 1/7 [SD]) were included and underwent ASO a mean of 6.9 days ± 3.4 after birth. When compared with baseline values, T-CEUS revealed a longer mean time-to-peak (right hemisphere, 4.3 seconds ± 2.1 vs 17 seconds ± 6.4 [P < .001]; left hemisphere, 4.0 seconds ± 2.3 vs 21 seconds ± 8.7 [P < .001]) and rise time (right hemisphere, 3.5 seconds ± 1.7 vs 11 seconds ± 5.1 [P = .002]; left hemisphere, 3.4 seconds ± 2.0 vs 22 seconds ± 7.8 [P = .004]) in both cerebral hemispheres during low-flow cardiopulmonary bypass and hypothermia (T4) for all neonates. Neonate age at surgery negatively correlated with T-CEUS parameters during ASO, as calculated with the area under the flow curve (AUC) during wash-in (R = -0.60, P = .020), washout (R = -0.82, P = .002), and both wash-in and washout (R = -0.79, P = .004). Mean AUC values were lower in neonates older than 7 days compared with younger neonates during wash-in ([87 arbitrary units {au} ± 77] × 102 vs [270 au ± 164] × 102, P = .049]), washout ([15 au ± 11] × 103 vs [65 au ± 38] × 103, P = .020]) and both wash-in and washout ([24 au ± 18] × 103 vs [92 au ± 53] × 103, P = .023). Conclusion Low-flow hypothermic conditions resulted in reduced cerebral perfusion, as measured with transfontanellar contrast-enhanced US, which inversely correlated with age at surgery. Clinical trial registration no. NCT03215628 © RSNA, 2022 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

c4c: Paediatric pharmacovigilance: Methodological considerations in research and development of medicines for children - A c4c expert group white paper.

Children frequently respond differently to therapies compared to adults. Differences also exist between paediatric age groups for pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in both efficacy and safety. Paediatric pharmacovigilance requires an understanding of the unique aspects of children with regard to, for example, drug response, growth and development, clinical presentation of adverse drug reactions (ADRs), how they can be detected and population-specific factors (e.g., more frequent use of off-label/unlicensed drugs). In recognition of these challenges, a group of experts has been formed in the context of the conect4children (c4c) project to support paediatric drug development. This expert group collaborated to develop methodological considerations for paediatric drug safety and pharmacovigilance throughout the life-cycle of medicinal products which are described in this article. These considerations include practical points to consider for the development of the paediatric section of the risk management plan (RMP), safety in paediatric protocol development, safety data collection and analysis. Furthermore, they describe the specific details of post-marketing pharmacovigilance in children using, for example, spontaneous reports, electronic health care records, registries and record-linkage, as well as the use of paediatric pharmacoepidemiology studies for risk characterisation. Next the details of the assessment of benefit-risk and challenges related to medicinal product formulation in the context of a Paediatric Investigation Plan (PIP) are presented. Finally, practical issues in paediatric signal detection and evaluation are included. This paper provides practical points to consider for paediatric pharmacovigilance throughout the life-cycle of medicinal products for RMPs, protocol development, safety data collection and analysis and PIPs.

Continuous monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in children using residual blood samples from routine clinical chemistry.

OBJECTIVES: The assessment of SARS-CoV-2 infections in children is still challenging, but essential for appropriate political decisions. The aim of this study was to investigate whether residual blood samples can be used for SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence monitoring in pediatrics. METHODS: In this repeated cross-sectional cohort study, anonymous residual blood samples from pediatric patients aged 0-17 years were collected in three time-periods (Oct.-Nov. 2020, April 2021, and June-July 2021) and analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein (anti-S) and nucleocapsid (anti-N) antibodies using commercial antibody assays. 28 reactive samples were used to compare antibody levels with a pseudotyped neutralization assay. The results were further compared to the official national COVID-19 surveillance data to calculate the number of unreported cases. RESULTS: In total, n=2,626 individual blood samples were analyzed. In this unvaccinated pediatric cohort anti-S and anti-N antibody seroprevalence increased over the three time periods (anti-S: 1.38-9.16%, and 14.59%; anti-N: 1.26%, to 6.19%, and 8.56%). Compared to the national surveillance data this leads to a 3.93-5.66-fold increase in the number of unreported cases. However, a correlation between the cumulative incidence of the individual provinces and our assigned data was found (r=0.74, p=0.0151). In addition, reactive samples with anti-S and anti-N and samples with only anti-S showed neutralization capabilities (11/14 and 8/14, respectively). Anti-S levels were not significantly different between age groups and sexes (all p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that residual blood samples from routine laboratory chemistry could be included in the estimation of the total SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in children.

Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy: possible impact on the infant.

The risk and potential consequences of mother-to-child transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during pregnancy are still a matter of debate. We studied the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on 56 complete households, including 27 newborns whose mothers were pregnant when exposed to the virus. Two PCR-confirmed perinatal SARS-CoV-2 transmissions with mild symptoms in affected neonates were recorded. In addition, we observed a severe eye malformation (unilateral microphthalmia, optic nerve hypoplasia, and congenital retinopathy) associated with maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in weeks 5 and 6 of embryonic development. This embryopathy could not be explained by other infectious agents, genetic factors, drug use, or maternal disease during pregnancy. Eight other women with a history of SARS-CoV-2 infection prior to gestational week 12, however, delivered healthy infants.Conclusion: The repeated occurrence of mother-to-child transmission in our cohort with risks that remain incompletely understood, such as long-term effects and the possibility of an embryopathy, should sensitize researchers and stimulate further studies as well as support COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for pregnant women. Trial registration number: NCT04741412. Date of registration: November 18, 2020 What is Known: •Materno-fetal transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during pregnancy has rarely been reported so far, but was demonstrated in isolated cases. What is New: •In a study of complete households with documented SARS-CoV-2 infection, including a cohort of pregnant women, we observed perinatal coronavirus transmission at a higher frequency than expected. •We also describe a newborn boy with an eye malformation reminiscent of rubella embryopathy but associated with early gestation SARS-CoV-2 infection of his mother. •A coronavirus-related embryopathy, reported here for the first time, is a finding that requires further investigation.

Safety of clonidine used for long-term sedation in paediatric intensive care: A systematic review.

AIM: Although not approved, the α-adrenoceptor agonist clonidine is considered an option for long-term sedation protocols in paediatric intensive care. We reviewed adverse effects of clonidine occurring in this indication. METHODS: Relevant literature was systematically identified from PubMed and Embase. We included interventional and observational studies on paediatric patients admitted to intensive care units and systemically long-term sedated with clonidine-containing regimes. In duplicates, we conducted standardised and independent full-text assessment and extraction of safety data. RESULTS: Data from 11 studies with 909 patients were analysed. The studies were heterogeneous regarding patient characteristics (age groups, comorbidity, or comedication) and sedation regimes (dosage, route, duration, or concomitant sedatives). Just four randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and one observational study had comparison groups, using placebo or midazolam. For safety outcomes, our validity evaluation showed low risk of bias only in three studies. All studies focused on haemodynamic problems, particularly bradycardia and hypotension. Observed incidences or subsequent interventions never caused concerns. However, only two RCTs allowed meaningful comparisons with control groups. Odds ratios showed no significant difference between the groups, but small sample sizes (50 and 125 patients) must be considered; pooled analyses were not reasonable. CONCLUSION: All evaluated studies concluded that the use of clonidine in paediatric intensive care units is safe. However, a valid characterisation of the safety profile remains challenging due to limited, biased and heterogeneous data and missing investigation of long-term effects. This evaluation demonstrates the lack of data, which prevents reliable conclusions on the safety of clonidine for long-term sedation in critically ill children. For an evidence-based use, further studies are needed.

[Improving the Safety of Drug Therapy through a Hospital-Internal Reporting System - Analysis of Reports over 15 Years from a Children's Hospital]. / Verbesserung der Arzneimitteltherapiesicherheit durch ein klinikinternes Meldesystem ­ Analyse der Meldungen über 15 Jahre einer Kinderklinik.

BACKGROUND: Patient safety is a major challenge and has high priority in the inpatient care. Notably, drug therapy is considered critical after surgery. The medication process is particularly difficult and problematic in newborns and children. METHOD: In a retrospective analysis, hospital-internal spontaneous reports on Drug-related Problems (DRP) from a children's hospital were analysed, which were reported between 2000 and 2014. RESULTS: 229 spontaneous reports on DRP were considered for analysis. 72.5% of these were due to a Medication Error. Nearly half of the DRP occurred during drug dispensing (44.5%), followed by problems during administration (38.0%) and prescribing (11.4%). 61.4% of Medication Errors were dispensing errors (esp. confusion of patients, wrong dose). Almost all Other Incidents happened during drug administration (mainly extravasations). 40.6% of DRP reports were associated with clinically relevant patient harm and occurred particularly during drug administration. CONCLUSION: These results show that drug therapy in paediatrics is a complex and hazardous process. The system of hospital-internal spontaneous reports has led to regular training and raising awareness of the employees for critical situations. In addition, it fosters a safety culture to report mistakes. Spontaneous reporting is suitable for increasing the safety of drug therapy in paediatrics.

[How often do SmPCs Contain Contraindications and Special Warnings that are Specific for the Paediatric Population]. / Wie häufig betreffen Gegenanzeigen und Warnhinweise in deutschen Fachinformationen pädiatrische Patienten.

BACKGROUND: 3.2-3.8% of all medicine prescriptions for minor outpatients are off-label only because of the patients' age group. The younger, the more patients are affected by this issue. Only one fifth of the most commonly used medicines for newborns are licensed for this age group. The aim of this study is to analyse all German SmPCs whether they contain contraindications and warnings that specifically concern paediatric patients. METHODS: All available SmPCs were processed to search the sections Contraindications and Special warnings and precautions for information on paediatric age groups. Results were evaluated for differences between age groups, ATC classification and routes of application. RESULTS: 13547 SmPCs (22863 medicinal products) were evaluated. For 3603 (15.8%) medicinal products the SmPC contained contraindications for at least one paediatric age group. For 9687 (42.4%) medicinal products contraindications or warnings were found, including 2833 (12.4%) where all patients below 18 years were affected. Preterms were particularly affected (n=9581, 41.9%) as well as the ATC therapeutic subgroups contrast media (89.0%), cough and cold preparations (86.2%) and Corticosteroids (topical 88.2%, systemic 86.6%). Concerning liquids for oral use the proportion was higher than average (58.2%). CONCLUSION: It can be assumed that for most medicinal products the contraindications for paediatrics result from a lack of data and age specific formulations rather than from pharmacokinetic or -dynamic differences in paediatric patients. The EU Paediatric Regulation did not significantly stimulate the conduction of paediatric studies in off-patent medicines to this day.

Effects of long-term methylphenidate use on growth and blood pressure: results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS).

BACKGROUND: Concerns have been raised over the safety of methylphenidate (MPH), with regard to adverse effects on growth and blood pressure. Our study investigates whether, and to what extent, methylphenidate use in boys with ADHD is associated with having low body mass index (BMI), having low height, and increased systolic and diastolic blood pressure. METHODS: Data used for this study stem from the German KiGGS dataset. Three different groups of boys aged 6-15 years were included in the analysis: ADHD patients who used MPH for less than 12 months; ADHD patients who used MPH for 12 months or more; and ADHD patients without current MPH treatment. Each of these three groups was compared to a non-ADHD control group regarding low weight (BMI ≤ 3rd percentile), low height (≤3rd percentile) and raised systolic and diastolic blood pressure. For growth outcomes, boys were categorized according to age (< 11 years/≥11 years, to account for pubertal maturation). Multivariable logistic regression was conducted to test for associations. RESULTS: 4244 boys were included in the study; MPH < 12 months: n = 65 (n = 36 < 11 years), MPH ≥ 12 months: n = 53 (n = 22 < 11 years), ADHD controls: n = 320 (n = 132 < 11 years), non-ADHD controls: n = 3806 (n = 2003 < 11 years). Pre-pubertal boys with MPH use less than 12 months and pubertal/postpubertal boys with MPH use of 12 months or greater were significantly more likely to have a BMI ≤ 3rd percentile compared to non-ADHD controls. Boys from the ADHD control group were significantly less likely to have a raised systolic blood pressure compared to non-ADHD controls. Beyond that, no significant between group differences were observed for any other growth and BP parameter. CONCLUSION: The analyses of the KiGGS dataset showed that MPH use in boys with ADHD is associated with low BMI. However, this effect was only observed in certain groups. Furthermore, our analysis was unable to confirm that MPH use is also associated with low height (≤3rd percentile) and changes in blood pressure.

[Medication safety in children : What role do dosing and formulations play?] / Arzneimitteltherapiesicherheit bei Kindern : Welche Rolle spielen Dosis und Darreichungsform?

Medication errors are more common in children compared to adults due to often missing efficacy evidence and limited or missing regulatory approvals for paediatric drugs.Roots of errors are located at different levels. They result, for example, from missing clinical studies that particularly investigate efficacy and correct dosing in younger age groups, the lack of age-appropriate dosage forms, the use of harmful ingredients, as well as the complicated and high-risk prescribing process.Electronic systems may improve the quality of drug prescriptions and reduce medication errors. The basic assumption is valid, evidence-based data behind such a system. In contrast to other countries, such a database is not yet available in Germany. The Plan of Action for the improvement of medication safety in Germany 2016-2019 (Aktionsplan) contains an action point "Creation of a database for dosing of paediatric medicines". Initial funding for 2 years has been granted for its implementation.Through systematic literature searches and the availability and provision of up-to-date knowledge on paediatric medicines, medication safety for children and adolescents can be improved. A database with relevant information to support more correct prescriptions within the paediatric population appears productive. The Aktionsplan has paved the way for the dissemination of evidence-based drug information for the country's paediatric population.

Safety profiles of iron chelators in young patients with haemoglobinopathies.

BACKGROUND: This review describes the safety of deferoxamine (DFO), deferiprone (DFP), deferasirox (DFX) and combined therapy in young patients less than 25 yr of age with haemoglobinopathies. METHODS: Searches in electronic literature databases were performed. Studies reporting adverse events associated with iron chelation therapy were included. Study and reporting quality was assessed using AHRQ Risk of Bias Assessment Tool and McMaster Quality Assessment Scale of Harms. Prospective clinical studies were pooled in a random-effects meta-analysis of proportions. RESULTS: Safety data of 2040 patients from 34 studies were included. Ninety-two case reports of 246 patients were identified. DFX (937 patients) and DFP (667 patients) possess the largest published safety evidence. Fewer studies on combination regimens are available. Increased transaminases were seen in all regimens (3.9-31.3%) and gastrointestinal disorders with DFP and DFX (3.7-18.4% and 5.8-18.8%, respectively). Therapy discontinuations due to adverse events were low (0-4.1%). Reporting quality was selective and poor in most of the studies. CONCLUSION: Iron chelation therapy is generally safe in young patients, and published data correspond to summary of product characteristics. Each iron chelation regimen has its specific safety risks. DFO seems not to be associated with serious adverse effects in recommended doses. In DFP and DFX, rare, but serious, adverse reactions can occur. Data on combined therapy are scarce, but it seems equally safe compared to monotherapy.

Interventions for reducing medication errors in children in hospital.

BACKGROUND: Many hospitalised patients are affected by medication errors (MEs) that may cause discomfort, harm and even death. Children are at especially high risk of harm as the result of MEs because such errors are potentially more hazardous to them than to adults. Until now, interventions to reduce MEs have led to only limited improvements. OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness of interventions aimed at reducing MEs and related harm in hospitalised children. SEARCH METHODS: The Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group (EPOC) Trials Search Co-ordinator searched the following sources for primary studies: The Cochrane Library, including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), the Economic Evaluation Database (EED) and the Health Technology Assessments (HTA) database; MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), PsycINFO, Proquest Dissertations & Theses, Web of Science (citation indexes and conference proceedings) and the EPOC Register of Studies. Related reviews were identified by searching the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE). Review authors searched grey literature sources and trial registries. They handsearched selected journals, contacted researchers in the field and scanned reference lists of relevant reviews. They conducted searches in November 2013 and November 2014. They applied neither language nor date limits. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised controlled trials, controlled before-after studies and interrupted time series investigating interventions to improve medication safety in hospitalised children (≤ 18 years). Participants were healthcare professionals authorised to prescribe, dispense or administer medications. Outcome measures included MEs, (potential) patient harm, resource utilisation and unintended consequences of the interventions. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two review authors independently selected studies, extracted data and assessed study quality using the EPOC data collection checklist. We evaluated the risk of bias of included studies and used the GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach to assess the quality of the body of evidence. We described results narratively and presented them using GRADE tables. MAIN RESULTS: We included seven studies describing five different interventions: participation of a clinical pharmacist in a clinical team (n = 2), introduction of a computerised physician order entry system (n = 2), implementation of a barcode medication administration system (n = 1), use of a structured prescribing form (n = 1) and implementation of a check and control checklist in combination with feedback (n = 1).Clinical and methodological heterogeneity between studies precluded meta-analyses. Although some interventions described in this review show a decrease in MEs, the results are not consistent, and none of the studies resulted in a significant reduction in patient harm. Based on the GRADE approach, the overall quality and strengfh of the evidence are low. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: Current evidence on effective interventions to prevent MEs in a paediatric population in hospital is limited. Comparative studies with robust study designs are needed to investigate interventions including components that focus on specific paediatric safety issues.

[Criteria for good prescribing practice in children]. / Inhaltliche Kriterien für eine gute Verordnung bei Kindern.

Paediatric prescribing is complex. A whole range of aspects needs to be considered to achieve an efficacious and safe drug therapy for children. Legal requirements for prescribing are clearly insufficient for this purpose. Children are immature individuals under constant growth and development. Consequently, based on age and cognitive abilities of the child individual drugs and dosing regimens have to be chosen. Frequent off-label use and a lack of age-appropriate formulation worsen the situation. Additionally, not all dosage forms are similarly adequate in different age groups. Taste significantly influences patient adherence. Dose calculations based on body weight are prone to errors, putting a point on the wrong place or mixing up measuring units easily result in ten-fold dosing errors. Computer-based tools to enhance prescribing are promising but, however, not yet widely implemented in paediatrics because of missing evidence-based data sources and the hugely complex process. Communication between clinicians and pharmacists as well as with the patient remains very important.

The epidemiology of drug-related hospital admissions in paediatrics - a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Despite previous efforts, medication safety in paediatrics remains a major concern. To inform improvement strategies and further research especially in outpatient care, we systematically reviewed the literature on the frequency and nature of drug-related hospital admissions in children. METHODS: Searches covered Embase, Medline, Web of Science, grey literature sources and relevant article citations. Studies reporting epidemiological data on paediatric drug-related hospital admissions published between 01/2000 and 01/2024 were eligible. Study identification, data extraction, and critical appraisal were conducted independently in duplicate using templates based on the 'Joanna Briggs Institute' recommendations. RESULTS: The review included data from 45 studies reporting > 24,000 hospitalisations for adverse drug events (ADEs) or adverse drug reactions (ADRs). Due to different reference groups, a total of 52 relative frequency values were provided. We stratified these results by study characteristics. As a percentage of inpatients, the highest frequency of drug-related hospitalisation was found with 'intensive ADE monitoring', ranging from 3.1% to 5.8% (5 values), whereas with 'routine ADE monitoring', it ranged from 0.2% to 1.0% (3 values). The relative frequencies of 'ADR-related hospitalisations' ranged from 0.2% to 6.9% for 'intensive monitoring' (23 values) and from 0.04% to 3.8% for 'routine monitoring' (8 values). Per emergency department visits, five relative frequency values ranged from 0.1% to 3.8% in studies with 'intensive ADE monitoring', while all other eight values were ≤ 0.1%. Heterogeneity prevented pooled estimates. Studies rarely reported on the nature of the problems, or studies with broader objectives lacked disaggregated data. Limited data indicated that one in three (median) drug-related admissions could have been prevented, especially by more attentive prescribing. Besides polypharmacy and oncological therapy, no other risk factors could be clearly identified. Insufficient information and a high risk of bias, especially in retrospective and routine observational studies, hampered the assessment. CONCLUSION: Given the high frequency of drug-related hospitalisations, medication safety in paediatrics needs to be further improved. As routine identification appears unreliable, clinical awareness needs to be raised. To gain more profound insights especially for generating improvement strategies, we have to address under-reporting and methodological issues in future research. TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42021296986).

Joint recommendations on cost calculation and estimation in paediatric clinical trials.

The conduct of clinical trials in paediatrics is essential to improve drug therapy in children. In Europe, paediatric clinical trials have been supported by the European Paediatric Regulation since 2007, but there is still a great need for high-quality clinical trials. The personnel and time required to conduct clinical trials in accordance with EU Regulations 536/2014 and 745/2017 is considerably higher compared to other studies, such as observational studies. It is important that this additional workload for the trial centre is fully compensated, also taking into account EU state aid rules. In paediatric trials, it is necessary to take into account the special requirements of paediatric and adolescent medicine when calculating the additional costs. Within the framework of the pan-European paediatric study network c4c/GermanNetPaeT, a working group dealt with specific aspects of cost calculation in order to support paediatric study centres in internal cost calculation as well as in the subsequent preparation of financing requirements for industrial sponsors or public funders. In several workshops the working group developed a cost calculation template with the content derived from the "Joint recommendations for a total services account as a factor in simplifying contracts" of the Deutsche Hochschulmedizin (DHM, German University Medicine), the Netzwerk der Koordinierungszentren für Klinische Studien (KKS Network, Network of Coordinating Centres for Clinical Trials) and the Verband Forschender Arzneimittelhersteller (vfa, German Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies). By estimating the specific time required for measures and investigations as part of a sample study, the background to the increased time required was discussed and a list with aspects to be considered for cost calculation was compiled together with the study centres. The paediatrics-specific aspects mentioned in detail are intended to increase understanding of the particular problem of higher costs for clinical trials involving children and adolescents and the need for correspondingly appropriate remuneration. This transparent and comprehensible presentation of the higher financial requirements for both the study centres and the financial supporters is intended to promote the high-quality conduct of clinical trials in paediatric study centres in the long term.

Authorized or Off-Label Use? A Structured Analysis of Summaries of Product Characteristics with Regard to Authorization in Pediatrics.

PURPOSE: The Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) is required to provide unambiguous information on the authorized use of a medicinal product. Therefore, we performed a structured analysis of the information provided for pediatric patients in current SmPCs. METHODS: In the German SmPC of the medicinal products of 452 active substances, we analyzed for each of the listed indications whether information on pediatric use was available in Sects. 4.1-4.4 of the SmPC and, if so, whether it was unambiguous. Information was considered unambiguous if it indicated an exact age- or weight-related specification. The analysis also considered the type of marketing authorization and the date of marketing authorization, either before or after the Pediatric Regulation 2007 came into force. RESULTS: Among the 30,354 identified indications in 8464 SmPCs, unambiguous information was found for 72.4% (21,974/30,354) of the indications. Of these, 45.4% (9967/21,974) disclosed a contraindication for the entire population under 18 years of age. The proportion of unambiguous information was higher for medicinal products with centralized marketing authorization (86.5% [1449/1676]) than for those with a national one (71.6% [20,525/28,678]; p < 0.001). A higher proportion of unambiguous information was found for the marketing authorization period 2007-2021 compared with 1996-2006 (1996-2006: 63.8% [7466/11,694]; 2007-2021: 82.1% [12,349/15,040]; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: For about a quarter of all indications, no or only ambiguous information was available for pediatric patients. The measures initiated in recent years to increase pediatric-specific information in SmPCs should be intensified in order to improve drug safety in children and adolescents.

Creating a Medication Therapy Observational Research Database from an Electronic Medical Record: Challenges and Data Curation.

BACKGROUND: Observational research has shown its potential to complement experimental research and clinical trials by secondary use of treatment data from hospital care processes. It can also be applied to better understand pediatric drug utilization for establishing safer drug therapy. Clinical documentation processes often limit data quality in pediatric medical records requiring data curation steps, which are mostly underestimated. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to transform and curate data from a departmental electronic medical record into an observational research database. We particularly aim at identifying data quality problems, illustrating reasons for such problems and describing the systematic data curation process established to create high-quality data for observational research. METHODS: Data were extracted from an electronic medical record used by four wards of a German university children's hospital from April 2012 to June 2020. A four-step data preparation, mapping, and curation process was established. Data quality of the generated dataset was firstly assessed following an established 3 × 3 Data Quality Assessment guideline and secondly by comparing a sample subset of the database with an existing gold standard. RESULTS: The generated dataset consists of 770,158 medication dispensations associated with 89,955 different drug exposures from 21,285 clinical encounters. A total of 6,840 different narrative drug therapy descriptions were mapped to 1,139 standard terms for drug exposures. Regarding the quality criterion correctness, the database was consistent and had overall a high agreement with our gold standard. CONCLUSION: Despite large amounts of freetext descriptions and contextual knowledge implicitly included in the electronic medical record, we were able to identify relevant data quality issues and to establish a semi-automated data curation process leading to a high-quality observational research database. Because of inconsistent dosage information in the original documentation this database is limited to a drug utilization database without detailed dosage information.

The Impact of Methylphenidate on Pubertal Maturation and Bone Age in ADHD Children and Adolescents: Results from the ADHD Drugs Use Chronic Effects (ADDUCE) Project.

OBJECTIVE: The short-term safety of methylphenidate (MPH) has been widely demonstrated; however the long-term safety is less clear. The aim of this study was to investigate the safety of MPH in relation to pubertal maturation and to explore the monitoring of bone age. METHOD: Participants from ADDUCE, a two-year observational longitudinal study with three parallel cohorts (MPH group, no-MPH group, and a non-ADHD control group), were compared with respect to Tanner staging. An Italian subsample of medicated-ADHD was further assessed by the monitoring of bone age. RESULTS: The medicated and unmedicated ADHD groups did not differ in Tanner stages indicating no higher risk of sexual maturational delay in the MPH-treated patients. The medicated subsample monitored for bone age showed a slight acceleration of the bone maturation after 24 months, however their predicted adult height remained stable. CONCLUSION: Our results do not suggest safety concerns on long-term treatment with MPH in relation to pubertal maturation and growth.

Methylphenidate and Sleep Difficulties in Children and Adolescents With ADHD: Results From the 2-Year Naturalistic Pharmacovigilance ADDUCE Study.

OBJECTIVE: Short-term RCTs have demonstrated that MPH-treatment significantly reduces ADHD-symptoms, but is also associated with adverse events, including sleep problems. However, data on long-term effects of MPH on sleep remain limited. METHODS: We performed a 2-year naturalistic prospective pharmacovigilance multicentre study. Participants were recruited into three groups: ADHD patients intending to start MPH-treatment (MPH-group), those not intending to use ADHD-medication (no-MPH-group), and a non-ADHD control-group. Sleep problems were assessed with the Children's-Sleep-Habits-Questionnaire (CSHQ). RESULTS: 1,410 participants were enrolled. Baseline mean CSHQ-total-sleep-scores could be considered clinically significant for the MPH-group and the no-MPH-group, but not for controls. The only group to show a significant increase in any aspect of sleep from baseline to 24-months was the control-group. Comparing the MPH- to the no-MPH-group no differences in total-sleep-score changes were found. CONCLUSION: Our findings support that sleep-problems are common in ADHD, but don't suggest significant negative long-term effects of MPH on sleep.