A randomised trial to evaluate prescribing accuracy when using the Paediatric Analgesia Wheel.

OBJECTIVE

To compare the accuracy of prescribing analgesic and anti-emetic drugs to children when using either the 2006 BNF for children (BNFC) or a new device, the Paediatric Analgesia Wheel.

STUDY DESIGN

A simulated prescription chart was created requiring doctors to prescribe seven drugs to each of two children (14 prescriptions in total). 52 doctors from anaesthesia, paediatrics and emergency medicine were recruited and randomly assigned to complete the chart using either the BNFC or a new device, the Paediatric Analgesia Wheel. The mean number of correct answers and mean time taken to complete the chart were compared.

RESULTS

Prescribing using the Paediatric Analgesia Wheel resulted in a significantly greater number of correct answers (mean 10.9) compared with using the BNFC (mean 3.5). In addition, the mean time taken to complete the prescription chart was significantly shorter when using the Paediatric Analgesia Wheel (5.8 min) compared with the BNFC (12.4 min).

CONCLUSIONS

The Paediatric Analgesia Wheel provides a time-efficient method of prescribing commonly used analgesic and anti-emetic drugs to children and results in improved accuracy when compared with using the BNFC.