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Polypharmacy in Children with Medical Complexity: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Pediatric Palliative Care Center

Authors :
Anna Zanin
Fernando Baratiri
Barbara Roverato
Daniele Mengato
Lisa Pivato
Irene Avagnina
Irene Maghini
Antuan Divisic
Francesca Rusalen
Caterina Agosto
Francesca Venturini
Franca Benini
Source :
Children, Vol 11, Iss 7, p 821 (2024)
Publication Year :
2024
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2024.

Abstract

Background: Children with medical complexity (CMC) often require multiple medications, leading to polypharmacy, which seems to be linked to adverse effects, administration errors, and increased caregiver burden. This study aimed to describe the prevalence of polypharmacy, medication burden, off-label drug use, and associated costs. Methods: Conducted at the Pediatric Palliative Care Center of Padua, Italy, from August to October 2021, this cross-sectional observational study included patients up to 23 years old with at least one prescribed drug. Data were collected from medical records and caregiver interviews. Drug costs were collected from the Italian Medicine Agency. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed. For comparisons among categorical variables, the Chi-square test was used, and for those among continuous variables, the ANOVA test was used. Results: This study analyzed treatment regimens of 169 patients with a median age of 12.5 years (0.3–23). Polypharmacy was present in 52.7% of patients, and medication burden was observed in 44.4%, both varying significantly by primary diagnosis (p < 0.001). The median daily cost per patient was EUR 2.2 (IQR 0.9–7.1), with significant variation among subgroups. Only 34.6% of prescriptions were off-label. Conclusions: polypharmacy and medication burden are frequent among our CMC population, with some differences according to primary diagnosis.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
22279067
Volume :
11
Issue :
7
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Children
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.8e5c22d49d940009176826a00ee712a
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/children11070821